Paper Mario: Island of Emotions
by PaintBrushJr
Summary: Welcome to the Island of Emotions, birthplace of feeling, and the unfortunate location of Paper Mario's next great adventure. Explore the rich, vibrant world, and the wonderful characters that populate. Witness the sinister unfolding of our sinister villain, or the great exploits that Mario and his partners did to save it. Who knows, maybe you'll feel a new emotion too!
1. Prologue Pt 1 The Setup

Paper Mario: Island of Emotions

 ** _Prologue: False Accusations_**

 ** _Part 1: The Setup_**

"Ahem… Allow me to tell a story that begins with the color gray."

"The entire world was devoid of any hope. Well, that and fear. Confidence. Hate. Every emotion. The only thing people felt? Emptiness. Can you imagine it? I can't. So, allow me to introduce a man who goes by the name Emosho. Emosho was peculiar. Everyone always did work. No one was willing to explore more than just living. Until now… Emosho was sitting on his porch, staring at the lawn, feeling nothing but emptiness. When suddenly, there was a girl. She was just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Emosho had seen her before, sure, but what he felt just then was so… odd… He couldn't describe it, and made up a word for it… Love."

"Just like that… A crystal popped into existence, and unfurled itself into a figure. This being had a different color than gray, a nice, subtle red. Just like that, her color dropped into the world, and she disappeared. The color spread to other parts of the world, and the blush of the girl's cheeks popped out to Emosho. Soon, he felt longing for the girl, and another being appeared, a light purple robe. Its color added itself to the girl's hair. Emosho was truly shocked, and he cried at how beautiful the world was becoming. He proposed to the girl, got married, and had a child whom they named Voib, creating so many emotions throughout the wild ride. They built a lovely cottage on a hill, and had a happy life…"  
"Until the fire started."

"Voib rushed out of the house, crying as he ran to his mother, who had left for the market to grab some mushrooms."

"MOTHER! DON'T GO IN THERE!" Voib shouted, "THE EMOTIONS ATTACKED US! THEIR LEADER LONGING, HE…"

"Voib's mother was shocked, and she handed him the basket, then stared at the house."

"MOTHER, NO!"

"She rushed in, and a few minutes later, the house collapsed. A nearby village put out the fire… but no traces of Emosho and his wife were found… Voib cried that day, and set out on a journey to make sure the emotions never directly interfered in the world again."

"Bit by bit, he defeated all of them through force, trickery, wisdom, and more. Until finally, he entered the palace of Longing, the negative emotion's leader. He stepped in the hallway, and deflected a lightning strike with his sword. Longing swooped down, his pure yellow eyes shining through the shadow of the cloak, holding a Y shaped staff, with an orb hovering in the middle. They clashed, until Voib grabbed Longing's staff and created another sword, striking Longing. He curled up into a crystal, and slowly hovered in the air. Voib grabbed it and revealed the others he had collected, making them promise that they would never interfere again. Then, the crystals flew away to a palace Voib had built for them."

"Voib was crowned prince, and he ruled The Island of Emotions with care. The Palace of Emotions is said to hover far above, and the place has slowly become a community of many people. Tourists have come to see many things. One day, a fair princess decided to visit. Her name was Peach Toadstool, but many know her as Princess Peach. She, along with her royal advisor and steward, Toadsworth, and her… friend… Mario all decided to fly in one day. Little did they know that they were not going to have a relaxing time…"


	2. Prologue Pt 2 An Odd Entrance

_**Prologue: False Accusations**_

 _ **Part 2: An Odd Entrance**_

 **PaintBrushJr: Hi guys! I'm going to pop up every now and then to explain some things. If you guys have question, say so in the comments, and I'll answer them. Anyways, enjoy getting into the true story!**

"Hmm… should we see the fire-wielding Bob-ombs first? Or the tribe of Huh… hoo… Hooskis? I think that's it…"

Peach was sitting on a nice and cozy chair, reading from the island pamphlet. She had just recently gotten a letter. Definitely an ad, but an inviting one at that. Emotion Island, according to the pamphlet, was the birthplace of all feelings, whether good or bad, and had a variety of different "attractions" surrounding this theme. Some silly Bob-ombs who had learned to master fire. A calming beach that you could just sleep in. A mountain so tall that it is said that only the most headstrong were willing to climb it. It was, to be honest, a ton to take in.

All this ran through Mario's head as he was writing in a notebook. He was trying to record the thoughts of his latest adventure, and it still wasn't done. Knowing there was another one of him was kind of… shocking, to say the least. Then there was the fact that he was immediately thrown into another adventure of the life being sucked out of people. But now, everything was fine, and he was going to take it easy.

At least, that's what he was hoping.

…

A Goomba sat in an alleyway, staring at the tablet ahead. He pulled out his notebook and began to work. It took his mind off the devastating things that happened to him. He wish he had a better angle, but if he were to walk out into the open square… He was afraid that he would get a scar.

The lines slowly formed together, and the Goomba began working on the front. A niche in the center, shaped like a diamond, and smaller diamond niches around it. The tablet was on what looked like a bookstand. But the Goomba was also interested in the people around it.

Cameras clicked. People stopped to stare at it. A person began talking about their culture. The Goomba got a bit happy. It was his favorite time of year, tourist season, when he wasn't treated as the scum of the earth. As long as he walked around carefully, he could blend in a bit. He would have to ask The Big Cheese. At least, that was his nickname. But Buck was a good guy. He would surely find a way for him to blend in. Then, for 2 months, he could feel normal.

A Shy Guy walked close to the alley, and the Goomba shrunk near the wall. But he was spotted.

"GET OUT OF HERE YOU LITTLE PUNK!"

The Goomba ran straight towards Dove Town's signature hotel as scathing remarks pierced him at all sides.

….

Toadsworth and Mario were playing a nice, simple round of Go Cheep-Cheep when the pilot walked up.

"Mind if I join?" he asked.

Mario scooted aside to let him sit down. Toadsworth was turning as purple as a Cheep-Chomp.

"Shouldn't you be flying the plane?!"

The Toad Pilot smirked, "Relax, everything's fine. My co-pilot, Truss T is driving. Or flying. Whatever the case is, kid's a natural.

Toadsworth turned from purple grape to eggplant in a matter of seconds, "THERE'S A REASON THERE'S TWO PILOTS! YOU'RE ENDANGERING THE PRINCESS!"

The Pilot leaned over the couch, "Hey Peach?"

"Yes, Eddie?" She looked up from her pamphlet.

"Do you mind just the co-pilot driving?"

"Stop bugging him Toadsworth, it's fine."

Toadsworth huffed. Mario places the newly shuffled cards on the table and passes out 8 to everyone. Eddie makes two piles, Mario and Toadsworth make 1.

"Got any Koopa-shells?" Toadsworth asked.

"You can't use the symbols Toadsworth, otherwise I'd have another pair of Fire Flowers"

"Sorry. Mario, you have any 8s?"

"Go Fish."

The three finish their game, and Peach walks over to join the next one.

Just as Eddie was about to complete his deck, (He asked for a 7, the only one he had left, and Peach had it,) a red alarm begin blaring. Truss T's voice filled the plane as he spoke through the speakers.

"Hi, we're approaching some storm clouds and I can't steer the plane away. Please prepare for some major turbulence."

Eddie rushed down the hall. Everyone buckled up.

"That's some storm clouds," Eddie's voice echoed.

Suddenly, the plane shook, and a lightning strike zapped a turbine outside the window. Peeking out, Mario saw magenta cloaked figures hovering around, holding simple staffs. Whenever there was a lightning strike, they would raise their simple choice of weaponry. There seemed to be only one explanation…

"They're attacking us." Mario spoke aloud.

Toadsworth's face decided to try a different color than purple, and a white tinge spread across his face. Peach looked worried.

"There's some kind of bubble around us…"

"WHAT?!"

Peach pointed her gloved hand towards the window. Mario could faintly see some shimmering… thing, which encircled the entire plane. Some lightning appeared to zap said orb.

"Umm… guys," Truss T's voice echoed, "Come to the front…"

Everyone unbuckled and inched their way towards the front. There, a larger cloaked figure was flying in front of the other ones. He had a light purple cloak, and pure yellow eyes peeking out of his hood, no pupils showing…. He held a staff too, but it had a Y shape, pointing at itself, and an orb hovering near the center.

"Please, turn around."

Somehow, through all of the wind and lightning that calm voice spoke through everyone's minds.

"What do we do…?" Toadsworth whispered, his voice carrying worry.

Before anyone could make a decision, a lightning zapped a plane wing…

Clean. Off.

The plane fell straight down, everyone screaming. Glass shattered, wind blew in, and a stray piece of lightning almost hit Peach, and instead hit the carpet.

Everyone tumbled in the air and suddenly… blackness…


	3. Prologue Pt 3 Dove Town's Other Side

_**Prologue: False Accusations**_

 _ **Part 3: Dove Town's Other Side**_

"Mario…"

"…"

"Mario… please, wake up…"

"…"

"Please… be OK…"

"I'm sorry, Princess you're doing it wrong. You have to do this."

The next moment, Mario opened his eyes, that is… after the fact that Toadsworth smacked him in the head with his cane. The first words out of his mouth, if you can call it "words" was a shrieking scream.

A nearby nurse beamed, "He's OK!"

The Goomba who had been drawing the tablet had decided to step outside the town's limits. He viewed the fields in front of him. Firm Fields, they were called.

The guard of the gate immediately let him through, although it clearly wasn't out of friendliness. He wondered what he should draw.

A fluffy cloud floated nearby, looking like a thought bubble. A Dreamist…. The Goomba was unsure whether to redraw it. Probably not. Then he saw it.

It was a cloaked figure, wearing magenta. In his "hands" beneath his cloak, he was carrying a simple staff. It was just floating there, looking around. It looked like a… but no, it couldn't be. It was just some cosplayer.

The Goomba began to draw the cloak, adding subtle traces of shadow. He made extra care with the staff, adding the interesting designs on it.

The figure looked at him. Then it ominously floated towards him. The Goomba got up, and slowly backed away. The figure charged, and the Goomba ran.

One bandage applied to the head, and Mario was out of there. Luckily, it was covered by his cap, so it didn't stick out. Meanwhile, Peach filled him in.

"It was shocking, pardon the pun. We managed to crash land right on the runway, though."

"What are the odds?"

"Low. Apparently the runway is located just on the edge of the island, and we barely landed there. A few feet back, and we'd be like Dry Bones."

"Now-now princess! Don't say that!" Toadsworth stated, "You wouldn't want to jinx us, would you?"

Mario and Peach shared a chuckle.

"Anyways, the runway people were shocked at how damaged our plane was, and immediately burst inside. They brought you to the hospital in their capital, Dove Town, and predicted you were in a coma. Meanwhile, Truss T. and Eddie checked on the repairs. The plane's fixable, but barely. They think what we saw was just jet lag, or maybe even a gas leak. But they assured us that the island didn't have magical cloak people ordering us to leave."

But Mario still had doubt. He had seen some crazy things, and the fact that they all had the same hallucination was troubling.

"Eddie managed to find a diner for us to eat, then we're going to find a hotel. The brochure doesn't say much about that, unfortunately…."

The Goomba huffed and puffed. Whatever was chasing him just radiated pure hate, and it filled him with a terror he had never felt before. He must have outrun him, but the Goomba would have to be more careful. But he had been dying to get a sketch of it. The library didn't allow him in, so he couldn't get a nice reference...

Wondering whether it was time to go to the hotel, there was a sudden fist.

Straight into his face.

The Goomba fell to the ground, and a snickering filled the air. Unfortunately his vision was blurred as a yellow blob picked up his notebook. Those goons…

"We got it Rob!"

"Good job Crook!"

The Goomba's eyes adjusted to see two golden-shelled Koopas sneering over him, wearing the darkest sunglasses in the world.

They peered over his notebook.

"This has so much info!"

"The library could pay a pretty penny for this!"

"No, we're going to sell this to an art museum! We'll make millions!"

"We'd have to make bigger versions. Rob, you know my fingers are all bent! Punching that little twerp didn't help!"

"Ugh, you're always complaining."

The Goomba groaned, and started to get up. One of the Koopas punched him and he fell down again.

"Time to skedaddle!"

They ran off, and one thought pierced the Goomba's head.

He got up, and ran after them.

The marketplace had so many smells wafting through Mario's nose. Fried mushrooms, cake, syrup, salad… Things that you wouldn't expect to smell well together automatically smelled astounding. The people all seemed lively and happy.

"I'm going to get some food for later," Mario said.

"But… we're about to eat!" Toadsworth shouted.

"I know, but it's for when we find a place to stay, in case we don't want to go to a diner or something."

"OK then!" Peach grinned, as Toadsworth began to try and form a reasonable argument, "We'll be at Blue Pepper."

Toadsworth was still blubbering as Peach pulled him away, and Mario began to inspect the shops. He should get Peach a cake, for obvious reasons, but he needed to come up with a few meals.

He had just decided on buying Koopa Leaf salads when some shouting erupted. It was faint, then got louder, until 2 gold-shelled Koopas and a Goomba erupted from a nearby alley.

The Goomba had blue eyes, and was wearing blue shoes with a blue backpack. But that wasn't what drew him attention, it was the filth.

From head to boot, different dirt marks covered him, and a small trace of it was even on his square tooth.

"GIVE IT BACK!" He shouted again, and leaped at a Koopa holding a blue notebook. He crashed into him, and the two fell down. The Goomba grabbed his notebook, (defying all logic, but it just appeared to be an ability of most Goombas,) and cuddled it like it was a baby.

Then boos and hisses erupted from the crowd. What appeared to once be a nice and cheerful crowd now yelled at the Goomba, saying horrible things like, "Piece of scum!" and "Why are you still tainting our streets?" Then…

"YOU STOLE MY NOTEBOOK!" The Koopa yelled.

"YOUR NOTEBOOK? YOU STOLE MY NOTEBOOK!" The Goomba yelled back.

The other Koopa walked up and shouted, "Give my bro back his notebook you disgusting Goomba!"

The Goomba began to cry, "It's mine! You stole it, you jerks!"

"Oh come on, we're supposed to believe the little homeless Goomba has such a clean notebook!" A shopkeeper yelled, "You are covered in dirt, and we're supposed to believe that bright thing survived?"

The crowd continued to booed again, tears streaming down the little guys face.

"But it is mine! I was drawing and-"

"What's all the ruckus?"

A blue Toad appeared, wearing a police uniform, complete with badge.

"Officer!" The Goomba shouted, "These people attempted to steal my notebook, and are claiming it's theirs!"

The officer extended a hand, "Give me it."

The Goomba handed the officer the notebook. He flipped through it, pausing at some pages.

"I've seen enough. You're going to jail."

"WHAT?!" The Goomba shouted.

"Jerry, bring in the truck," The Toad spoke into a radio, then turned back to the Goomba.

"No one like you could create beautiful drawings like these. It's not caked in dirt, and has tons of information on this. A vermin like you has no access to that, or any artistic talent."

"But Officer, I can prove it! I could draw you a picture right now! I could-"

A truck pulled in, and the back doors opened revealing two other officers, and a coil of rope. Mario winced.

"Wait please! I'm not guilty!"

The Goomba ran over to a Koopa, "Please, you believe me, right?"

The Koopa kicked the Goomba away. "How dare you touch my new shoes!" she scoffed.

The Goomba ran to a Yoshi, "Please, I'm innocent! I swear!"

The Yoshi turned his head. Then the Goomba locked his eyes on Mario, and ran towards him.

"Please, sir! You have to believe me!"

Mario locked eyes on him for a moment…

Then he nodded.

The Goomba's face showed relief, happiness and sadness. The officers walked towards him and tied him up extremely tight. The Goomba was thrown into the truck, and the door was slammed shut. People cheered as the truck drove off…

Mario had been following the Koopas for some time, and yet, nothing suspicious had happened yet. They had merely walked like they had somewhere to be, occasionally stopping to check something of interest. Both appeared to make idle conversation, and from what Mario had heard, they were merely making some idle chitchat. It honestly seemed like these Koopas were innocent.

Mario stopped to look at a map as the two walked into an alleyway. The odd part of it was the fact that the area labeled "Forest" had a gray area around most of it, giving it an almost faded look. After studying, he walked into the alley.

To get hit with a fist.

"ROB! You punch the next person! I'm getting a cramp!"

"Fine Crook! But, one thing…. DON'T! SHOUT!"

The two got into a large argument as Mario took time to prepare his hammer and get up. The two looked at him.

"Great…" Rob groaned.

Crook raised his fists, and winced.

Then the battle began.

Crook popped into his shell and rammed into Mario as Rob decided to try an uppercut. Mario winced and jumped into the air, slamming onto Rob, then smashing his hammer into Crook's hands.

"AGH!" Crook shrieked and fell to the ground.

"Crook! Oh you're going to pay for that!" Rob began wildly swinging his arms around, but he was so full of rage that he missed Mario, earning a hammer that knocked him into the wall. He crumpled, dropping "their" notebook. Mario picked it up, then looked into the trash can and smiled.

The Goomba kicked a ball at the wall. It hit it and bounced off, onto the floor, and back into the Goomba's lap. He sighed and looked at the cell. There were bars and a faint door. The rest of the cell offered a look that basically gave out a depressing vibe. The stones appeared to be rotting away. That's right, stones. In a modern town. Sure, they used cobblestone paths, but the fact that outside of the cell was a hallway leading to a nice office, the stones were just excessive. Mold clung onto the stones, and a steady drip of water fell from the ceiling, straight into a poorly made bucket made of wood.

Just as the Goomba was wondering whether this was the rest of his life, an officer walked up and inserted a key into the door, opening it.

"There appears to have been a… mistake on our part, and you are free to go…"

The officer was trying to look apologetic, but the Goomba could clearly see that he was upset that he was getting away.

"You have someone waiting for you."

The Goomba ran out the door and saw the man he had talked to at the circle. In his hand, he carried his notebook.

"THANK YOU!" The Goomba said, and ran up to the man, graciously accepting it.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you so much! What's your name sir?"

The man smiled, "They call me Mario."

"Wait… no way. You're not THE Mario?"

He nodded, and the Goomba made a little squeak.

"This is amazing. I'm actually meeting you!"

Mario smiled again, "So, where's your parents little guy?"

The Goomba's face fell, "… Dead…

The smile fell off Mario's face, "Anywhere I could take you?"

"The orphanage won't take me, and I have no known relatives."

"…. You want to stay with us for a bit?"

"… Us?"

"Princess Peach, Toadsworth and two pilots all came with me."

The Goomba smiled, "That'd be great! Thank you! Where are you staying?"

"We don't know yet…"

"Oh! I know the perfect place! Let's find your friends, and I'll show you it!"

The Goomba began to run off when Mario stopped him,

"Wait! What's your name?"

The Goomba gave a grin, "My name is Goombuddy Doodle Baobao, but I go by Goombud.

Mario smiled, and the two set off.

A cloaked figure sat in a circular room, gazing at a crystal ball.

"We almost interfered…" He mumbled.

"But we had to," Another voice spoke, "How else would we stop this so-called hero?"

Green ribbons swept across the floor as a shimmery cloak stepped in.

"Hopelessness… Just leave me be."

"Longing, you know we had to do it."

"We have to follow this law or else!"

Hopelessness's green-yellow eyes stared at Longing.

"There is one way we can go around it though.

Longing stared at the ball and nodded.

"Send out the Strifes."


	4. Prologue Pt 4 Our Plot Unfolds

**_Prologue: False Accusations_**

 ** _Part 4: Our Plot Unfolds_**

Peach was staring at the hotel in front of her.

"Are you sure that you want to stay here?" Toadsworth asked her.

"No."

The place was clearly in the worst condition possible. It was small, built of weathered bricks, and had broken windows, boarded doors and wilted plants as decorations. Also, the people going in and out of it clearly weren't trustworthy. Two Koopas had recently entered with rope marks around them both.

"How about we go somewhere else," Toadsworth stated, but Peach sighed.

"When I asked for a decent hotel, this was the only people pointed towards. They clearly expect tourists to stay somewhere else."

"Where else? Our broken airplane in the shop?"

"How about Le Rose Hotel?" A voice said, and Mario ran up, accompanied by a little Goomba.

"Le Rose Hotel?"

The Goomba smiled and repeated himself, "Le Rose Hotel. It's pretty much the fanciest hotel here. Also, were you actually thinking about staying at this place? I know The Candy-Box sounds pleasing, but it is not, trust me."

"Who is this?" Toadsworth questioned, staring at the Goomba.

"His name is Goombud, and I just rescued him from jail."

Peach and Toadsworth stared at him.

"It's a long story. It's so long, you could probably turn it into a chapter in a book. But he's a kind heart. Everyone just hates him for no reason."

Peach kneeled down, "Hi little buddy. I'm so sorry."

Goombud was obviously blushing, then straightened himself out.

"Anyways, Le Rose Hotel, or as most people call it, The Rose Hotel, is probably the nicest place I have seen, although that's not much. The owner is also really nice, and is the only person in town who doesn't hate me."

Toadsworth scratched his mustache, "Very well then. Let's see this "Rose Hotel."

The three walked off.

….

A magenta cloaked figure watched this all from behind a corner, and began to follow. Two others appeared and followed.

….

The Rose Hotel was spread out before the whole group. Taller than most of the buildings in Dove Town, it was entirely pink, with purple trimmings. The doors had shiny glass and gold trimmings. Balconies protruded from the sides. A giant sign on top of it all had a painted rose, and cursive writing stating, "Le Rose Hotel."

"Well, shall we enter?" Mario asked, and all four stepped through.

The entrance had a purple carpet with a yellow rug in the middle with the rose seen on the sign. Couches lined the walls, and a desk took up the front area, with hallways on either side. The receptionist was a white Squeek with a heart-shaped tail, reminding Mario of Ms. Mowz. However, instead of a red mask, the receptionist had heart-shaped glasses, embedded with gems.

"Hello hon! Welcome to "Le Rose Hotel!" Tourists, I assume?"

"That's about right, madam," Toadsworth said, straightening his bowtie. Goombud snickered.

"Very well then. So, there's one, two, three, OH GOOMBUD! How you doing darling?"

"OK," Goombud replied, "Thanks Regal de la Dombes."

"Hon, just call me Regal! I've told you this. Here, let me get 'The Big Cheese.'"

Regal walked out of the counter and down a hallway. Soon, another Squeek walked up with her, his tail shaped like a dollar sign.

"HEY LITTLE BUDDY!" He said, and the two hugged.

"This is Cheddar," Goombud explained, "or "The Big Cheese," as we call him. He runs the hotel here, and is one of the few people who like me. I sometimes get to sleep here when there are little-to-no guests. If there are tons, I prefer to leave, otherwise it drives away his business."

"… Wow. That was a big explanation," Peach said.

"The kid's a smart one, that's for sure, and I would adopt him in a heartbeat if the orphanage actually accepted him."

It took all of Mario's willpower not to tear up. This kid clearly had such a sad life.

"Anyways, what can I do for you? You need a free room?"

Peach gasped, "A free room?"

Cheddar laughed, "Of course! A friend of Goombud is a friend of mine, right Regal?"

"Certainly sir!"

"So, let's see here…. The best room we have is Room 89, with a shower, balcony, 4 queen-sized beds and a built-in kitchen. Will that be suitable?"

The crew gaped, then Peach choked out, "Yes."

….

The room fit everyone's style perfectly. After a Pink Bob-omb cleaning lady did a quick make-over, each bed had their own style. Mario's bed had a red and blue style, with a giant M on the pillow, Peach's bed was fluffy and stylish, including a nice little crystal orb on the side, Goombud's bed was simpler, yet still comfortable, including an art wall for him, and Toadsworth had a brown bed with a study next to it. The view from the balcony was truly-stunning, and the kitchen was still glimmering from the wipe-down.

It was truly paradise.

"Goombud, would you like to go into the shower first?" Peach asked, but Goombud shook his head.

"These dirt marks are permanently stuck onto me. No amount of washing can change that. Plus, I may be homeless, but I'm not dumpster diving."

Peach nodded, "Very well. You two?"

Mario and Toadsworth shook their heads, so Peach walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Mario promptly jumped into the bed. Goombud and Toadsworth did the same…

Moments of silence, then a gentle snoring from Toadsworth…

"Goombud?"

"… Yeah?"

"Have you ever thought of leaving the island?"

"… I can't say I have."

"Well maybe, after the vacation, you can come with us."

"Really?!"

Mario smiled, knowing in his heart that it was true.

"Really."

Goombud smiled, "Thank you."

"Night."

"Night."

Mario turned off the light.

….

Goombud finished his sketch of the tablet, and showed it to Mario. The detail was truly stunning, showing the small, delicate carvings on it.

The group, after having a nice breakfast, decided to go on a tour, with their guide, Goombud, showing them all some important spots in town. Their first stop was right in front of them, what the townspeople called, "The Tablet."

"It's been said that straight above us is what we call 'The Palace of Emotions.' This is where the emotions are said to reside, ever since Prince Voib sealed them away."

Eddie took a picture, "Neat."

Peach decided to inspect the tablet closer, "What are all of the holes for?"

Goombud snorted, "There's an urban legend that if a decent amount of emotions deem you worthy, or if you manage to prove yourself worthy by beating them all, you are shot all the way up to the Palace. However, it's just a legend, and I think it's just to give tourists more money to throw at, no offense."

"And the central one?" Peach said while staring deeply at it.

"The leaders of the emotions take that spot. We separate them into two core groups: The Positive and The Negative. The leader of The Positive emotions is Love, while The Negative is Longing…"

As that name was spoken, a chilly wind blew through the area. People stopped, conversations stopping mid-sentence. Even the birds stopped chirping. All was still…

"Umm… is that name 'taboo?'" Toadsworth asked.

"…No…" Goombud said, as another wind blew through.

Mario looked up at the sky. The clouds weren't moving, the birds weren't flying… They were all still. The waters weren't splashing the shore in the distance. Instead, they were frozen mid-wave. The smoke that emanated from the plane was as still as a drawing. Then, a faint glow emanated from The Tablet, right where the central hole was, the biggest of them all, and the one for the leaders… Peach began to walk up to it.

"PRINCESS! STOP!"

"I CAN'T STOP!"

She stepped closer and closer like her legs were tied to strings and peered at the hole closely, her nose almost scraping the surface. Her gloved hand reached out… and touched it.

A gust blew everyone off their feet and onto the ground. Three magenta-cloaked figures appeared in the air and slowly floated downward, not quite touching the ground. In their hands were simple staffs…

"Those are the guys from the plane crash…" Mario whispered.

"I saw one outside the city. I made a sketch, then it charged at me…" Goombud replied.

They floated slowly towards Peach, her hand still on the hole, and raised their staffs. A bubble appeared around her, and she fell down, her hand off. She got up and pounded on the pink bubble.

"HELP! CAN'T I JUST HAVE ONE VACATION?!"

The bubble and cloaked figures slowly floated up into the air. It was time for Mario to do what he did best. He jumped and landed on one a cloaked figure's head. He dropped his staff and they all fell to the ground, the bubble still hovering.

"Let's take some baddies down!" Mario said, and Goombud got up and ran towards him.

"I owe you," he said, and a battle initiated.

…...

The three figures got up and prepared their staffs. Goombud pulled out his notebook and flipped to a page.

"That's a Strife. They're basically the grunts of The Negative emotions in our culture. They're based on bitterness and arguments, just to put it lightly, and attack with very offensive attacks. Their defense is pretty low, so just put up with what they throw at you and I'll think you'll be good."

Just to prove Goombud's point, a Strife hovered in the air and charged, causing Mario to smack it with his hammer, knocking it down and dealing some mild damage.

The two other Strifes decided to do a team attack, and raised their staffs and creating a magical bolt of energy, then threw it at Goombud, who responded with a kick of feet, knocking it away.

"Ow-ow-ow. That really burns. Man, that's my only pair of shoes… Let's teach these guys a lesson!"

Mario jumped on the head of the already-damaged Strife, defeating it, and Goombud charged, smacking into them both. Mario stared at him.

"What?"

"Sorry, I'm just used to a headbonk."

"When you live on the streets, you learn that jumping in the air shouldn't be your only attack."

The two Strifes prepared another magic attack, and launched it at Goombud. Mario decided to protect his buddy and smacked it with his hammer, knocking it back into the two. They both went down, and the battle ended.

….

With the three defeated Strifes, the two new partners high-fived (Or in Goombud's case, high-footed) and celebrated it. But it wasn't over yet. Two more Strifes appeared again, and they began to lift up the bubble. Mario sprung in the air, only for another cloak to appear in front of him.

In his shock, Mario fell face-first into the ground and got up. A transparent cloak hovered above him, with yellow eyes and a light purple cloak.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I must borrow your princess for a reason of mine. Believe me, I don't like this either, and I know that you have constantly longed to get her back… Constantly."

Peach was already too high in the air, and she outstretched her arm.

"MARIO!"

He tried to reach out his hand and jump, but it couldn't reach. She disappeared into the clouds.

"What… what..," Toadsworth said, in a state of complete shock, then his face burned red, "YOU BETTER BRING HER BACK RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME!"

A shadowy hand floated out of the cloak and made a shooing motion. Toadsworth appeared in a bubble, and was sent screaming upwards.

"TOADSWORTH!" Goombud shrieked, Mario's face developed into complete shock.

"Unfortunately, I'm not sending you up there Mario. You would just wreck my plan without allowing me to get to step 1. I'm terribly sorry, because I'm not a kidnapper, trust me."

"You… you're Longing, right?" Goombud stammered.

Longing bowed, "Correct, and I wouldn't state myself as leader of The "Negative" emotions… But anyways, I need to leave, metaphorically speaking…"

Mario raised a fist and attempted to punch him in the face. It went straight through Longing.

"That is why I said metaphorically. Projecting myself takes effort, but it has its uses. Now then, I must be on my way. I wish you all a good rest."

Longing raised his hand, and a Y-shaped staff appeared, a crystal orb hovering in the center.

"You're the one who attacked our plane!" Mario shouted

Longing raised an eyebrow, only visible due to it raising above the cloak.

"Interesting. You are truly naïve."

He swept his staff, and a wave of darkness smacked into Mario and Goombud, knocking them to the ground, and causing their eyelids to droop.

"Have a nice sleep…"

….

Peach woke up in a circular room, with Toadsworth sleeping beside her. The room was truly pretty, containing wonderful artwork decorating the floor. All around the room were doors, each with a different symbol over them. One had a heart, another had a fist, one had air breaking through a block, and one had sparkles over it. There many more, but Peach's attention was drawn to the center. In this plain room, only one thing stood out. A crystal ball was on a pillar in the center. The base was plain gold, but the ball itself had swirling mist in it. Beside it was a light purple cloak, a shadowy hand holding a staff. Their eyes appeared close. Then they swung their staff and commented the words, "Have a nice sleep." It stood still, then opened its pure yellow eyes.

"Hello princess…" It said in a calm voice, "My name is Longing."

Peach did the first thing that came to her mind. She slapped him across what she assumed to be his face. While she touched something solid, it didn't feel fleshy. More mist-like. But her hand did connect with something, and Longing fell to the ground.

"Ow… That really hurt." Longing got up, and Peach slapped him again. Longing stumbled and grabbed her hand.

Toadsworth began to get up, saw the princess having her hand help by Longing, and charged.

Longing swept his staff, and Toadsworth fell over.

"How about we have a friendly chat?" Longing said smoothly.

He let go of Peach's hand. She slapped him again.

Longing calmly smacked her with his staff. She fell to the floor.

"Now that that's out of the way… Princess Peach, welcome to The Palace of Emotions."

The words echoed off the walls…

"But… Goombud said that's an urban legend…" Toadsworth blabbered.

"Goombud said that using the tablet to get here was an urban legend. But… he was wrong about that too…"

Longing calmly strode towards the orb, and rapped on it with his shadowy knuckle.

"This thing is the reason we're all stuck here because of this. Our ancient rule states that only a being of pure heart can break this, and we'll be free to interfere with the world again."

"… Ok…" Peach began to walk in the opposite direction. The doors shut.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. No, no, no. I understand that you and I got off on the wrong foot, but please, you must do this for us…"

Peach suddenly stopped, and turned around.

"What's happening..?"

"Oh Peach… don't you get it? You were destined for this. You are truly pure of heart now. You are… Purity…"

Peach stumbled forward. Toadsworth attempted to grab her, but Longing nudged him away with his staff. Peach was close to the orb. She raised her fist…

"Why can't I control my own body?" She cried, then her fist slammed into the ball, and shards flew everywhere…

….

For the second time in two days, Mario groaned as he woke up. He was lying down on his custom-made bed, Goombud's bed across from him.

"It was all a dream," he muttered happily, "Just a dream…"

"YOU'RE OK!"

Goombud jumped onto the bed, tackling him into a hug.

"Thank goodness! When Longing attacked, I woke up here and your heart had stopped… I thought you were…" He sniffed and shed a tear.

Mario patted him on the back, then the realization came to him, "Peach is gone…"

"Yes… I failed you… I'm so sorry."

Mario patted him on the back, "It's OK. I couldn't do anything either. We both failed."

Goombud sniffed again, and the two hugged for a moment.

"All right, let's quit the hug fest…"

"Ok Goombud…"

"That wasn't me."

The two stopped and looked around the room.

"I'm next to you."

The two looked side-to-side and saw only a wall and Peach's bed.

"OY! Right here."

The crystal orb decoration on Peach's bedside suddenly projected a hologram. It was a boy wearing a feathered hat and an old timey coat. His hair appeared to be pointed upwards at the edges. The hologram was tiny, above the ball, and light blue in color. Mario did the first rational thing that came to mind.

"OW!"

The ball rolled onto the floor after Mario kicked it, and the hologram appeared to face-plant, despite being a few-inches off the ground.

"Watch it! When you're an orb, you don't really know which side to land on, being perfectly round and all."

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Mario asked, scared out of his wits.

The hologram got up and brushed himself off, then pulled off his feathered hat, revealing that the rest of his hair wasn't spiky, and bowed.

"You sir, just kicked Prince Voib, son of Emosho, creator of emotions. Oh yeah… WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

Goombud gaped, "Prince Voib?! You should be dead!"

"Really? I thought that it was perfectly acceptable to live for millions upon trillions of years."

"Ok. Can you please catch me up here?"

"Prince Voib is the son of Emosho, creator of emotions. After a… fire…"

"It's OK, go on. I've had eons to get over that."

"Thank you. After the fire killed his parents was started by Longing, Prince Voib set out to capture all the emotions and stop them from interfering with the world. He then ruled as Prince until the end of his life."

"Well, the legend lies. For example, here I am, not dead, and trapped in a ball."

"So… do we just break it?" Mario asked.

Prince Voib moaned, "I've dropped from the highest building I could find, aka this, and was found by the cleaning lady. She commented, 'Beautiful! It doesn't have a single scratch on it,' and here I am, still trapped in a ball, or turned into a ball, or whatever."

"How'd you even get trapped in a ball?" Goombud asked.

Prince Voib stared at him, "Well, what do you think?"

He mimicked waving a staff.

"Longing." Mario and Goombud said at the same time.

"Yep, and here I am. That was the guy's last interference before leaving this world. At least they can't interfere any…"

Prince Voib blanched, "Mother of Grambi… He actually did it. He managed to get a person of pure heart…"

"Peach!" Mario exclaimed.

"Pink dress, golden locks, crown on her head?"

"Yeah! That's her!"

"She just smashed the only thing keeping the emotions locked up…"

Goombud gasped.

"There's one," Voib nonchalantly said

Mario and Voib stared at Goombud.

"Umm… Buddy?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Why'd Voib say that?"

Goombud shook his head, "I don't know."

Voib laughed, "I forgot that you people were so ignorant. Emotions can interfere with the world in two ways, possession or creating a brand new body. Longing prefers to enter the world as a new body, but some others like to choose "hosts" as we call them. They can inhabit things with strong emotional attachment, for example, craziness would probably inhabit something wild and insane looking, or someone that has the traits of them, for example, Love choosing you."

Goombud and Mario stared at him, then Goombud screamed, "LOVE? I'M ANYTHING BUT LOVED!"

Voib shrugged his shoulders, "Don't blame me. Love chose you. She must believe that you are a loving influence on people around you. I don't know."

Goombud groaned and plopped his head into a pillow. "This can't be happening," he muffled.

Prince Voib winked, "Better believe it! If you want to stop all of this, we must go…" Prince Voib drew a sword out of the scabbard and raised it high, "ON A QUEST!"

Mario groaned and plopped his head into a pillow. "One vacation. I wanted one vacation," he muffled.

"C'mon, cheer up! You're going to get to see amazing sights, wonderful creatures, and wonderful allies!"

Goombud and Mario sat up.

"Well, I guess it's time to bring the tour out of town… Let's go Mario. It's about time you got a new partner."

 **[** ** _Goombud joined your party, even though he had already joined! Goombud's ability: Know-it-all! When in doubt, Goombud is always ready to give you information. Using his trusty notebook, he provides information on landmarks and enemies! In battle, Goombud is also ready to do a handy charge, capable of hitting multiple enemies!_** **]**

 **[** ** _Goombud learned a new ability! Through the power of being the host of Love, Goombud has the ability to not only heal you, but also attack all enemies on screen, due to love not just being a dainty flower, but a powerful force]_**

"Hey!" Prince Voib said, "I'm going along too! You'll need someone who's done this before to help you!"

 **[** ** _Prince Voib decided to temporarily join the party]_**

"Wait…" Mario said, "What do you mean, someone who's done this before?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Prince Voib, "In order to get to The Palace of Emotions, we're going to need to hunt for all of them!"

 **PaintBrushJr: Hey guys! PB here. Now then, I know I just started this, I'm going to have to put it on hold… for a week.**

 **Don't you worry though! Once I get back, we'll stop giving exposition and get into the actual meat of this story! Until then, stay creative!**


	5. Chapter 1 Pt 1 Old Faces, New Faces

**_Chapter 1: At All Costs_**

 ** _Part 1: Old Faces, New Faces_**

"Welcome to Firm Fields, for the determined. Also, the most beautiful place you have ever seen…"

Goombud was explaining the place to Mario as they both trudged through the beautiful hills. Flowers of many colors bloomed here and there, but unlike Flower Fields, the place didn't have forced beauty. The place was simply natural, having only a small amount of beautiful things, instead of too much. Butterflies and other bugs flew around, and trees dotting around provided Mario and Goombud shade. Unfortunately, that didn't protect them from the constant mosquitoes, and the overwhelming scents that almost knocked Mario out.

After swatting at his arm, he pulled out the orb housing Prince Voib, "Are you absolutely sure we need to go here?"

"My logic is flawless!" A voice shouted from inside the orb, "If there is room here, the emotions will go there. Every square inch will be covered. Even the residents!"

To demonstrate his point, Prince Voib rolled slightly forward in Mario's palm, and his attention was directed towards a thought bubble with eyes.

"Prince Voib, that's just a Dreamist."

"It houses relaxation."

"… They're literally creatures that are rumored to have spawned from dreams. Of course they're relaxed."

The Dreamist suddenly turned towards the group, and charged, bumping Mario and sending Prince Voib crashing to the ground. The Dreamist hovered over the spot and sprinkled some dust. Prince Voib was silent.

"NO!" Goombud yelled, and tackled the Dreamist. A fight began.

….

"That's a Dreamist," Goombud explained, "Like I said, they're rumored to have come from a dream. Apparently, the spirits of relaxation house them. Try not to let that dust they release touch you, because it'll be hard to wake up from that.

Mario nodded and proceeded to jump on the Dreamist. It responded by lashing out its thought bubble tail, smacking Goombud in the face, and made him falls asleep. Mario simply smacked it with its hammer and it went down.

….

"Well, that was easy," Mario commented, and proceeded to wake Goombud by shaking him, and Prince Voib by throwing him against a tree.

"GUH! I'm up Mom!"

Mario and Goombud stared at him. Mario could swear the orb looked a smidge bit brighter.

"Let's just keep on moving…

….

A cookie hopped past the group's hiding place. With its bright blue lipstick in a very odd and chapped fashion, and the fact that it had cat ears, it was safe to say it was no ordinary hopping cookie.

"That's a Kookie. A kooky cookie. Very odd attacks, and I would recommend defeating it before it barfs rainbows on you or something."

"How'd you get that in your notebook?"

Goombud responded by shrugging.

The two inched their way past it, luckily avoiding a boring battle, and crept towards a little town that stood out in the distance. From what they could see, it had some houses peeking out of the top of a poorly constructed fence made of logs, all of them sharpened at the tips.

"They must not like visitors," Mario offhandedly commented. Goombud laughed and shook his head.

"That's just a town of Koopas. Almost all of them train to become Paratroopas."

Mario's eyes widened, "Trained to become Paratroopas? How is that possible?"

"You know how when you stomp on a Koopa or Paratroopa, their wings fall off? Good news is that you're not tearing off a creature's limbs that he was born with."

Mario sighed, guilt falling off his shoulders.

"So how do they do it?"

"The process is hard to explain, so the best I can say is that they get wings from a creature known as Air-Shoot and attach it to themselves. Then they learn to fly."

"That didn't sound hard to explain."

"Try explaining how to remove wings from a ball of flying air as it rapidly tries to escape and injure you, then explain how to attach said wings to your body and use your brain and muscle movements to make them fly at the perfect altitude without going berserk or falling off."

"… Point made."

Goombud cracked a smile, and the two laughed a bit.

"Well, why are we conversing about these Pair of Troopers?" Prince Voib shouted from the inside of Mario's pocket, "Shouldn't we be finding and stopping emotions? They love hiding in castles. We need to find a castle!"

"Umm, Prince Voib, how long were you gone from the modern world?"

Silence.

"Honestly though, I've had a good relationship with some Koopas. Maybe we can find some help there."

The two set off.

….

The two had made it to the town, and found a gate. Outside of said gate was a Paratroopa flapping his wings, and carrying a mail bag. He had on an aviator's hat.

"Parakarry?" Mario shouted with glee. The Paratroopa looked at Mario, his face changing from curious to shock to a wide grin. The two ran to each other and hugged.

"Mario! I didn't know you were visiting this place!" Parakarry chirped with glee.

"It's been awhile, old buddy of mine."

Goombud looked up at the two, then nodded and walked away, giving the two some space. He motioned to Mario, and he tossed him Prince Voib, who made a small, "Wee!"

"So, how have you been?"

"Good, you?"

"Alright…"

They stayed silent, and Parakarry fumbled with his mail bag.

"What do you say to someone who went on a life-threatening adventure with you, then you both said goodbye and never saw each-other except when you get a letter?" Mario asked, and Parakarry chuckled.

"It's just been so long. I got to do my first flight across continents, and it was exciting! Me, given the honor to do this. It's just… wow."

The two chatted for a bit, then Parakarry said he had to leave. The two shook hands, and Parakarry flew off. Goombud walked back up.

"Who was that?"

Mario wiped something under his eye, "An old friend."

The gate opened, and the two walked inside.

….

A large sign above their heads said, "Welcome to Paratroopa Town! Home of the Terrific Turtle Flyers!"

A little store with a green tiled roof was in a corner. A small white building with glass doors stood in another. Little houses dotted the place. It was, overall, a small community. Mario breathed in this small little area, then fell on the ground as he was tackled.

"OH MY GOSH! I AM SO SORRY! Are you OK sir?"

He was offered a yellow hand, and he was pulled up. He stared at his attacker, and the first thing that came through his mind was that she must be a punk rocker.

The Koopa had a pink Mohawk and a nose ring. Both of her hands had spiked rings on every finger, and he noticed some piercings on her face. In her hands, she carried two wings.

"Oh my Grambi, I am so sorry! Listen, I'm late for class, have to find little kids, now I've run over you! Please, here's some money for the inn! I need to get to class right now, but I can't leave the kids!"

She put some coins in Mario's hand and rushed off into an alley.

Goombud blinked, "That was… odd…"

Mario rubbed his stomach where the Koopa, (Or was it a Paratroopa?) had hit him.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I should give her back her money. Where is she?"

Mario put the coins in a separate pocket so he wouldn't accidentally spend them, then he walked into the alley. The Koopa was gone, unless she knew how to instantly transform into someone else and fall asleep immediately.

The new Koopa was dirty, dusty, and wore some broken sunglasses.

"Hey K-Dog!" Goombud said, and the Koopa snorted, getting up.

"Hey! It's my little Goomba friend! How you doing?"

The two exchanged a bit of small talk, as Mario stared, having no idea what was going on. The two eventually realized that they were being rude,

"Look at that Mario! We both met some friends from our past. This is Kreep, though that gives him a bad image, so we call him K-Dog. He's one of my homeless buddies."

K-Dog squirted some moisturizer on his hands from a bottle on his waist, then held out his hand. Mario shook it, and surprisingly, no dust was on the glove. Looking at his hands, Mario noticed that they were the only part completely clean.

"Hey man, I was wondering… At the risk of sounding rude, do you have any spare change?"

Mario checked his wallet and pulled out 35 coins, then put it in the Koopas hand. He eyeballed it.

"Oh my goodness… Thank you!"

The Koopa sniffed, then he nodded to Goombud, before walking off.

"That was very kind of you Mario, and exactly what he needed."

"What do you mean?"

"K-Dog has been trying to save up enough coins to start a business. You gave him so much money for it."

"Wow. I thought I was being a bad person for only giving him 35 coins."

"Nope."

The two looked as K-Dog exited the gates.

….

A cloaked figure sat on a trash can, and looked at the Koopa in front of her. Its punky attire was distasteful, but reminded her of… no, don't get attached on old feelings.

"What do you need?" She asked kindly, and the Koopa got on her knees and clutched her hands together.

"Please! I need your help! I lost the kids I was babysitting!"

The cloaked figure looked shocked for a moment.

"OK. I know what to do."

The figure removed her cloak and raised her wand just as someone familiar walked around the corner. The two looked at each other, then Mario raised up his hammer.

"Kammy."

Kammy Koopa stared at him for a bit, then booked it.

"NO! WAIT! COME BACK!"

The Koopa from before ran after her.

"Mario!" Goombud gaped, "That's Kammy? I always thought she would be a bit… younger…"

The two chased after the Koopa and witch, rounding another corner. The Koopa tripped, causing Mario and Goombud to gain a lead.

"Wait! What are you doing?" The Koopa yelled as the two ran around another corner.

….

They found Kammy attempting to cast a spell, her back against a corner.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Mario shouted as he lifted his hammer.

Kammy responded by finishing her spell, and Mario was suddenly lit ablaze. He screamed, dropped his hammer on Goombud's head, and fell to the ground, rolling. Goombud got up, and was seeing double.

"Get away from me, you little whippersnapper!" Kammy shouted, then summoned her feather-duster. Mario shook off the fire and promptly jumped on her

"OW!" She shouted, falling off, and Mario lifted his hammer. Kammy rolled out of the way, and began chanting. A lightning cloud appeared over Mario's head, and struck him. She then summoned her feather duster again, only for Goombud to stumble into her. The two fell into a scuffle, Goombud with his eyes closed, Kammy without her glasses.

Mario decided to finish the battle quickly, grabbing Kammy's wand and kicking her off Goombud, who was trying to stop her slaps with kicks.

"OW! What are you doing, you dolt?"

Mario hefted his hammer, and Kammy raised her hand.

"Wait! I quit!"

"… You what?"

"I quit working for Bowser. Well, kind of. I'm having some me time."

She took off her robe to reveal swim apparel, and touched a button on her glasses to create a scuba mask.

"I've been deep-sea diving recently, and it's really fun!"

"…"

Kammy noticed his discomfort and put the robe back on, taking off her goggles and putting on new glasses.

"Anyways, I'm getting tired of always getting punished by him for just bringing bad news. All of those annoying nicknames too. 'Oh, Your Surliness.' 'Oh my, Your Cleverness!' 'Wow! Look, Your Adorableness!'"

"What was that last one?" Goombud asked.

"We were looking at the family photos, OK?"

"Ok…"

Kammy blushed, "He looked so cute in those little diapers. But anyways, I've decided to take a break, and I may even quit. It appears that my understudy, Kamek, has been doing nicely. So I haven't truly bothered to check up on them. Are they doing OK?"

Mario decided not to mention the fact that Bowser had gotten power with a dangerous side-effect… twice…

"Yeah, they're doing OK… I think…"

Kammy gave a one-tooth smile, "That's good to hear. Anyways, while I'm on this trip, I'm just a beautiful Koopa witch, so if you need anything, just ask.

Mario grew silent, "You mean it?"

Kammy shrugged, "I've got nothing better to do."

Goombud whispered in Mario's ear, "Should we tell her about the world-dominating emotions scattered everywhere?"

"No," came Mario's reply, deciding to not disclose everything to her.

The Koopa from before ran up, panting.

"What happened?"

"Just a misunderstanding," Kammy replied, and shuffled up to the Koopa, then waved her wand. A compass appeared in her hands, and the Koopa looked at it.

"That'll track your little children you were watching."

"Thank you!" The Koopa said, and began to rush off before Mario grabbed her arm. She turned around.

"Hey, I need to return this," Mario said, and handed her the coins she had given him.

"Oh… thanks. Hey, I didn't catch your name…"

"Call me Mario, and this little adorable Goomba right here is Goombud."

Goombud turned red from embarrassment from the compliment.

"Thanks. I'm Perry. Listen, I need to find the kids I'm watching then hurry to my flight class. I'm 2 hours late."

She ran off, then Kammy sighed.

"Poor girl…"

Goombud turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"

Kammy sighed, "Paratroopas graduate at age 10. She's 14."  
Mario and Goombud were shocked, and Kammy bowed her head.

"Sometimes, I wonder if she'll graduate… Anyways, it was nice seeing you Mario, even if you did beat me up. Here."

She gave Mario a map, as well as some metal and coins.

"There's a Hammersmith in the shop. Use that to upgrade your hammer."

"Wow… thank you Kammy."

Kammy cracked a smile, "Listen, I know you're not telling me something. So… if I see you around, I'll help you in any way I can."

She summoned her feather duster and flew off.

….

After a nice rest in the inn, Mario and Goombud were ready to continue hunting emotions. After upgrading his hammer, the Hammersmith told him how to do a "Jump Smash."

"You simply jump into the air and bring your hammer down. This'll create a little shockwave to knock back foes and destroy a row of blocks. This won't work with ledges though… Also, it requires precise timing, but you can hit airborne things with it."

"Thank you sir."

The Koopa nodded, and strode back inside.

Mario looked at his new hammer. It was gray, with black linings. However, the metal was just a look, and Mario had the option to remove it, while still containing the same effect and strength. But, he decided to try something different.

Just as the duo were walking out of the gate, Mario was tackled for the second time in two days. This time, it was by an old Koopa.

The two collided, and Mario got up. The Koopa had white eyebrows, covering his eyes. He was wearing a custodian's uniform, and carrying a mop.

"OUT OF THE WAY! I NEED TO GET THE WARRIORS!" He warbled, then attempted to shuffle towards the village.

"Umm… all of the warriors are gone," A Koopa said.

"Wait… ALL THE WARRIORS ARE GONE! But the training team is getting attacked!"

"Koostodian," another old Koopa appeared, this one with curly white hair and a smile that would melt anybody's heart, "Do you need a nap?"

Koostodian slammed his mop on the ground.

"Do I look like I need a nap woman? This is serious!"

Goombud sighed, "That's Koostodian, the elderly janitor of Mushroom Mart in this town. He's a war veteran, but now that he's of old age, he keeps thinking that attacks are happening in random places."

Koostodian was arguing with the other elderly Koopa, who still had that smile on her face, and stomped his foot before running off. Mario walked up to the lady,

"What happened?"

"Oh," she said, her voice so sweet it was almost sickening, "My husband thought that there's an attack going on around the training area for all Paratroopas. He'll just look around there before realizing the inevitability that he's just seeing and hearing things. What's odd though is that he did take his medicine today…"

She pondered this, still smiling. Mario and Goombud looked at each other, and decided that something was up.

"Where is the training area?" Mario asked.

"Oh, you don't believe him, do you? But if you're honestly curious, it's that way."

She pointed outwards from the village entrance.

"You'll notice some hoops. Follow them and you'll eventually find the Paratroopas of tomorrow. Well, I'm off to dominate everybody at Bass Warrior…"

She shuffled away, mimicking the guitar.

"…Wow."

Goombud looked up at him, "You didn't think all elderly Koopas were just into crosswords and BINGO, right?"

"… I did, actually."

"Don't do stereotypes, Mario." Prince Voib chipped in, and the two ran off, Prince Voib safely stored in Goombud's backpack.

….

Mario and Goombud ran through the field, occasionally fighting the occasional Kookie and Dreamist. They heard the sounds of battle up ahead, and when they ran over the next hill, they noticed the carnage.

Koostodian was smacking energy balls with his broom, occasionally whacking a Strife. He would hop into his shell, spin, and smack one.

The trainees, small as they were, put up a good fight by using trickery. They would get in front of a Strife, and cause them to hit one-another. If they got too smart, they would run into one, and gang-up on them, beating them to the ground.

However, the true show was not dealing with Strifes.

Perry was singlehandedly fighting Longing, or at least, attempting to survive him.

Longing would create portals and make purple and blue fire fly through them. He would summon a decahedron and reverse gravity on Perry, then proceed to create attacks that followed her around, attempting to corner her into getting hit. He swung his staff, he shocked her with lightning, and overall, appeared to have the intent of beating her within an inch of her life.

Perry was holding her own, however, and was throwing her wings like boomerangs, smacking away projectiles and Longing himself. If she got stuck in a pickle, she would attempt to fly her way out of it. She was, overall, determined to stop Longing.

Mario and Goombud joined the fray, and the fight quickly turned towards the heroes' favor.

Mario whacked Strifes left and right, while Goombud finished them off using the power of Love, healing everybody while he mercilessly destroyed anyone willing to hurt his friends. Soon, all that was left was Longing himself. Everyone turned around to face him.

"Well then, I appear to have made some enemies instead of accomplishing my goals," he stated, and disappeared.

"… What was that?" Perry shouted, "We were just attacked by magical cloak wizards! Was this part of the exam?"

Everyone stayed silent, and Mario was clamping Prince Voib to prevent him from blurting out everything.

"I don't think so…" A kid stammered, "Otherwise they would have started it before you got here…"

"Besides," another kid said, "What kind of flying exam is fighting? I got smacked in the back… hard…"

"I need to get the flight instructor," Perry said, "Koostodian, please watch the students."

Koostodian saluted, and Perry walked off. Mario and Goombud crept to a corner.

"Is it just me, or was that fight too fast?"

Goombud nodded, "As soon as we got here, the fight just became too easy. Remember when Longing just knocked us out with that purple wave? Why didn't he do that here?"

"He was scouting," Prince Voib stated.

"Scouting?" Mario asked, and Prince Voib hopped out of Mario's overalls and into his hand.

"Longing liked to scout when I was adventuring, always looking at my possibilities and actions, and attempting to stop all allies I could gain for my cause."

"So, somebody here could become one of our allies," Mario replied.

"Most likely. Either that, or he was baiting you to come over here. Why though, I wouldn't have the slightest idea."

"Could it be a trap?" Goombud proposed.

"Longing's not one to set traps, but he also wouldn't kidnap a girl unless he had to."

"Remember though, he did set a house on fire," Goombud countered. Voib stayed silent.

Luckily, none of the kids appeared to care what they were talking about, which was a first. The group was debating whether to evacuate the area when Perry ran back up.

"Bad news. I can't find the instructor."

The group began searching the area, inspecting every nook and cranny, even the unconscious Strifes that hadn't disappeared yet. It was a student that made a shocking discovery.

"Perry… I found him…"

Lying on the ground was a purple cloaked Strife, with the hood drawn down. Its face was a Koopa's, and was completely purple. At the end of the cloak sprouted a wispy trail, similar to a ghost's.

 **PaintBrushJr: Hey guys! Thank you for waiting so patiently for this. I'm sorry that I had to be gone for a week, but I was able to read a ton of stories! Anyways, I would like to thank all of the reviews on this post. Remember to give me constructive criticism when needed. For example, someone told me that I had sudden jerks and changes of perspective. I'll work on that. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 1 Pt 2 A Lighthearted Distractio

_**Chapter 1: At All Costs**_

 _ **Part 2: A Lighthearted Distraction**_

"How is he?" Perry asked the doctor.

The Strife/Instructor hybrid was lying on a bed in the inn. It had taken the combined efforts of Perry, Koostodian, Mario and Goombud to take him there with occasional stops on the way. He wasn't heavy, no, but he radiated such intense bitterness that they had to stop occasionally to shout and punch a tree. Now, they had gotten him onto the bed of the inn, and were attempting to figure out what was wrong with him.

"We're not sure…" The doctor replied, and stared at the Strife. His face appeared to be constructed to a form of complete hate, his eyes still open and bloodshot.

"This isn't natural though!" Perry shouted, "Why does he have no legs anymore? Why is he purple? WHY DID HE ATTACK US?"

Perry broke down crying, and a nurse escorted her out of the room. Mario, Goombud, and Koostodian remained.

"Thank you for helping this man," the doctor addressed the three, "I think we'll have to transport him to Dove Town hospital for the time being. This illness is… unsettling… In the meantime, just explore the island. Thank you."

The three exited the inn, and Koostodian propped his mop on the ground, "Well, is this not a pickle? Nobody believed me, and now we have some sort of mutant instructor…"

He sighed, "I need to take a break from all of this."

Kammy and Perry were having a discussion, Kammy summoning tissues and Perry crying. The three joined them.

"He was like a second father to me. Don't get me wrong, we did but heads from time to time but… Aw, why am I crying? I sound like a damsel…"

Perry dried off her tears, "Thanks for listening Kammy."

Kammy removed some headphones from her ears, "I'm sorry, what?"

Perry and everyone else seemed oblivious to this, and Perry turned towards the group.

"Thanks for saving us. If it had been a few more minutes, I'm afraid to think of what would happen."

"Aw, thanks," Goombud blushed, "But you guys appeared to be holding your own."

"ARE YOU MESSING WITH US?" Koostodian said, "I was about to wipe out! My body has degraded over the years. I find it a miracle I was able to get to Paratroopa Town and back, then fight everything. I guess adrenaline does that to you…"

The four stayed silent for a moment, then Perry broke the ice, "Hey… I heard that there's a talent show going on at Floral Town. It's a nice little community, but the talent shows they do are super fun!"

"What are you saying?" Koostodian asked.

"I think we all need a little distraction from past events…" Perry said.

"I'd love to join," Mario said, "But I have things to do, unfortunately…"

"No you don't," Prince Voib muttered.

Mario chuckled, "Do you mind if my friend and I talk for a bit?"

Mario nudged Goombud away to a private corner.

"Now listen," Prince Voib said, "I know that we have to stop the emotions from, you know, doing things, but I think you guys need a little break… after, well, you know…"

"Yeah…" Goombud said, and the two stayed silent for a bit.

"Besides," Prince Voib said, "We'll still be exploring for emotions. It's not like they always have a big, super obvious lair. Sometimes they're out in the open, sometimes they reveal themselves to you, etc. If you find one, just bring it to them!"

"You seem awfully determined for us to rest and adventure," Mario chuckled.

"I'm never determined," Prince Voib said, his voice becoming almost monotone.

Goombud and Mario shared a nervous chuckle, then they returned to the group.

"We're going!" Mario gleefully stated, and Perry clapped her hands.

"Great!" She stated, "Now let's become one big group and get a move on!"

 _ **[Perry joined your party, though you technically joined hers! Perry's ability: Makeshift Weapons! Have a far off enemy or object, and Perry will hit it with her wings. In battle, Perry can use her wings to hit multiple enemies, and when Mario is in a pinch, use her flying training to make him dodge any attacks.]**_

 _ **[Kammy Koopa joined your party, even though you had past differences! Kammy's ability: Quick Block! Kammy is willing to create any temporary blockade for you, just in case you need it! In battle, Kammy has reluctantly agreed to attack enemies with a magic spell, and if she feels like it, will boost your stats for a few turns!]**_

"Are you coming Koostodian?" Perry asked.

"… Ah, I don't see why not."

 _ **[Koostodian decided to join your party, albeit reluctantly. Koostodian's ability: Clean Sweep! Koostodian will be able to always get a first strike if an enemy touches you while out in the fray. In battle, Koostodian is willing to "mop" the floor of enemies by rapidly attacking them with his broom, and even can turn the tide of battle by removing all of the enemies in the field, although he feels that you should have warrior's honor when doing this, and leaves the reward for who he believes needs it.]**_

"Great!" Goombud gleefully stated, "Now that we have our little group, let's make a move on! To Floral Town!"

….

"That's an Impashoot," Goombud squeaked, as two viciously circled them, "They're literally just air circling around itself like a ball. Of course, air has weight, and needs to fly with the ability of those two wings. These are Air-Shoots, now… well… impatient. I guess that explains why they're attacking us."

The two were viciously circling the group, with four blocks blocking the way, thanks to Kammy.

Perry had her wings in hand. Mario appeared to be preparing for a nasty jump. Kammy was currently casting a spell, and Koostodian… was simply standing.

The walls were cracking as the Impashoots, hating to wait, were continuously ramming them.

"Get ready…" Perry warned the group, as one wall was dangerously close to falling. Having the Impashoots have to funnel through one area would make things a ton easier.

The cracks had nearly made it all around the block. A few pieces chipped away…

Then it fell.

Perry began to continuously hit the Impashoots as they desperately attempted to get their prey. Koostodian had stopped standing around and twirled his cleaning appliance, smacking and launching the two back. Mario was jumping on them if they got too close. Goombud was staying near Kammy, giving her tips on trajectory and aim as she launched spells.

While the Impashoots had no faces, and were just as Goombud said, a ball of air with wings, they were clearly furious from the noises made. But they couldn't get through, and weren't going to retreat, leading to their inevitable downfall. The two enemies dissipated to nothingness, leaving only their two wings.

Perry brought out what appeared to be a stick of dynamite and threw it upwards. It exploded, and left a trail.

"Nice flair," Kammy grunted.

"Yeah, we need all the wings we can get."

The group set off again, avoiding some Dreamists and the occasional Kookie.

"We have no idea where these came from," Kammy explained, attempting some small talk, "They just sort of appeared."

"It was almost like magic!" Koostodian chuckled, and the two began to talk.

"It's a match made in heaven!" Mario exclaimed, and the group bust out laughing.

Of course, Mario, Goombud, and the hidden Prince didn't explain how these monsters appeared.

….

The group approached a wooden bridge. Bound by ropes, it looked surprisingly sturdy. It connected a chasm, with a cliff nearby that poured out a waterfall. However, this wasn't the shocking discovery.

Hovering above the bridge was a mask. It reminded Mario of something in a dream. What did his 3D counterpart call it? A Phanto? It reminded him of that.

Deciding to play off the theater masks, it was completely circular, and divided into two parts. One half of the mask had an eye curving upward, and a permanent frown on its face. Both were dark, and put on a white background. The left side, however, had the exact opposite, with the eye curved downward, but a permanent smile on the face. Both were white on a dark background. Overall, the face looked like it was split in two, and created an odd smile-frown mashup.

The ominous thing was that it was just floating there, staring at the small band of people.

Then it shed a tear on its right side and screamed.

It was the sort of scream of someone getting tortured, murdered even! It was so harsh that you could see the soundwaves, and everyone fell to the ground, clutching their ears. Four vines slowly crawled up the chasm, and circled the posts. Then, they broke.

The bridge cleanly fell away, and the mask stopped screaming.

The group was slowly recovering from going deaf when the mask stared at them again.

"I'm sorry…" A voice whispered in their heads, and the mask fell away. The vines stayed.

"What… was… that?" Perry whispered.

"I've dealt with beings of unimaginable horror, but nothing like that!" Kammy gasped, her breath weak.

Koostodian, the retired warrior, one who was told to have faced armies, gripped his mop, his knuckles white from losing circulation.

"Whatever that was… the bridge is down…" Kammy said, "But it's an easy fix… I hope…"

She waved her wand, and a large block shaped like a rectangle appeared, and barely scraped the sides of the gorge.

"That's a temporary fix…" She muttered, and the group tiptoed across. Perry through one of her wings at the waterfall, then caught it on the return trip.

"What was that for?" Goombud questioned.

"There's a switch behind it," Perry explained, "When hit, it alerts the town that the bridge is out. Stops all trips until they can fix it."

"Ah…" Goombud said weakly.

Once the group crossed, they decided to take a breather, and Mario sat down, away from the group.

"What in the world was that?" Mario asked, pulling out Prince Voib.

He yawned, "Sorry, I was sleeping… What'd you see?"

Mario explained their odd encounter.

"Oh… that… Did anyone not cover their ears?"

"… Goombud," Mario said after a long pause.

"He'll be fine. Goombas have the best hearing in the world! Any others?"

"No."

"Good. That was Guilt, a… messed up emotion. So, it was just a mask?"

"That was all I could see…"

Voib pondered this for a moment, "Well then, we have quite the pickle here. If there was no host, her crystal is close."

"Their crystal is their defeated form, right?"

"Yes and no… Their crystal is more of their power contained. It's basically them in their purest state… I'm not exactly sure how to word it… But Guilt is typically in a host. Once removed, then her purest form is separated from her. Either that, or it's a chain for her to connect to the world. Again, I'm not sure how to word it…"

"So… should we break off from the group?"

"No. I told you, you need this vacation. Just rest, and come here when you're good. Besides, Floral Town is nearby."

"How do you know that?"

Voib rolled in Mario's hand, and looking at the direction, he understood.

On the horizon was another town surrounded by sharp logs. Houses could be seen peeking over, but instead of tiled roofs, these houses had large petals circling them.

"We're here!" Perry said gleefully, and Mario pocketed Voib.

….

Nothing says Floral like having everything be made of some plant type.

The houses were large stems of varying colors and speckled spots, ending with large plump petals and a few stigma sticking out.

Instead of glass, the shop of the town was just translucent plant fiber.

The denizens of the area consisted of Amazy Dayzees, and a few Piranha plants. Sure, there were other species like Koopas, and Mario even thought he saw a Wiggler, but the real eye-candy was the stage in the center of town.

The stage was planks of wood to form a base above the ground, and a platform for people to walk on. The stairs were also planks, but vines curled to create support and railings. Two large posts hung up a banner, stating, "FLORAL TOWN'S 118th Talent Show!" Streamers decorated the middle areas, and a sponsorship for U Goom University made up a backdrop. A wooden small podium with a microphone stood on the edge, and some Dayzees were working on other podiums.

"ROSY!" Perry called, and a Dayzee with red petals looked up.

"PERRY!" She shouted gleefully, and dropped her hammer, jumped off the stage, and ran to Perry with her little arms outstretched. The two hugged for a bit.

"This is Rosette, my best friend!" Perry said, and she jumped up and down excitedly.

"Just call me Rosy! Koostodian, how old are you? 40?"

"…69…"

"I could've sworn that you were younger!" Rosy said, giving a wink that melted everyone's heart, then looked at Goombud and squealed.

"OH NO! WHAT HAPPENED?" She asked, rushing to his side and licking her hand nub, then began to try and wash the smudges off his face.

"Umm… those are permanent…" Goombud shyly stated, and Rosy gave another gasp.

"NO!" She said, "OH BABY?"

She began hugging Goombud, starting out endearing, but lasted so long that it became awkward.

"Umm… Help…"

It took the combined strength of Mario and Perry to pull Rosy off, and Goombud winced as he rubbed his cheeks with his foot.

"Anyways… heh… Perry, you have to introduce me to your other friends!" She cried cheerfully, continuously bouncing up and down, clapping the entire time.

"This is Kammy, Mario and Goombud," Perry stated, pointing at each of them. They all waved.

"IT'S SO NICE TO MEET ALL OF YOU!" She said, and tried to rub the dirt off Goombud again, falling onto the ground when he sidestepped her.

"Heh-heh… Perry says that it seems like we're opposites, but that makes us the best of friends!"

"Rosy's mostly the one who cares for others, and loves to make everything all nice and clean."

"Perry on the other hand," Rosy grumbled, her cheeks puffed out.

"Heh… I'm more the one who likes to get my hands dirty…"

"You also made bad choices with how you present yourself…" Rosy muttered.

"I told you, I like the Mohawk, I am going to wear the Mohawk with pride."

"You look like a gangster!"

"So?"

The two began bickering like mother and daughter until Goombud cleared his throat, "So… you're having a talent show here?"

The two stopped, and Rosy put on a sweet face again, "Yes we are! We already have the contestants put down. There's me, obviously," She stopped to flash her petals around, causing everyone to giggle, "Then a local Wiggler named Butters. We also have Twig, a Leaf Guy, and Mallet…"

Perry groaned.

"What's wrong?" Mario asked.

"Mallet is the winner of every competition, and ALWAYS cheats," Perry grumbled.

"Wait, how does he still win?" Goombud asked.

"Because no one knows how to prove it's him, even though everyone knows it."

"Every single talent show he appears in, there has been some mysterious thing that's helped him win."

"All of them…"

The two grumbled for a bit.

"So, what's the prize?" Mario asked.

"Huh? Oh! The prize!"

Rosy pulled out a clipboard and flipped through it, stopping on a page.

"This year, we have a beautiful necklace, complete with gold chains, and bedazzled with gems, donated from a mine at U Goom, hence their logo on the backdrop."

Kammy cackled, "Oh, a beautiful necklace for a beautiful person, like mwah."

Goombud sneezed.

"However, it's not just a girl's necklace. You could use it as a chain, sell it for money, or give it to someone special."

Rosy winked and nudged Goombud. Goombud blushed, and Mario almost gasped. Rosy was hitting on the little orphan!

"Umm, what are the age requirements? I mean, Goombud's 14 and all."

Goombud sighed, but Rosy clapped, "Oh, as long as you're 10 and up! That's how I was able to get in, being 15."

'Well, there goes that savior for Goombud.' Mario thought in his head.

"It sounds fun though. I'll sign up."

"Ditto," Goombud said, "Maybe I can give it to someone who needs it."

"OH! I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE ARE CHARITABLE!" Rosy squealed, "Anyone else?"

Kammy signed, along with Perry, and Koostodian had to think about it a bit. Finally, after much persuasion and Rosy offering to show him a Power-Flower point, he signed.

"Great! It's going to be amazing competing with you guys!" Rosy squealed, "It's getting late though. There's a nice inn. You should probably rest up there, and maybe SAVE to…"

"Thanks Rosy!" Goombud exclaimed, then turned towards the group, "So… I guess we're competitors now."

"Not quite…" Rosy said, "The rules of the show is that you're allowed to team up with a teammate in a few rounds. So, you can pair up with anybody."

She winked at Goombud.

"Umm…. Err…. I'll go with Mario…" Goombud stammered.

"I guess us young'uns will stick together," said Kammy, and Koostodian nodded.

"OK then!" Perry exclaimed, "Rosy? You and me?"

They did a fist bump.

"Well then, I repeat myself, I guess we're all competitors now."

 _ **[Perry, Kammy and Koostodian all left your team for the sweet prize at the end of the contest!]**_

 __"Well then…" Mario said, "Let's get a move on."

They all walked into the inn…

….

 _A figure got up in the night and walked out of the inn and stared at the stage. They climbed up and began to work, grabbing a dropped hammer, and hung it by a rope at the top of the stage._

….

Mario yawned as he got up, feeling better than he had when going to bed. Goombud was already up, brushing his teeth, as well as making some notes in his notebook. After freshening up, the two exited the inn, only to get swarmed by a huge crowd.

"GAH!" Goombud exclaimed, as he got pushed in deeper.

On top of the stage was an odd being. Looking similar to a common person from Mario's darkest adventure yet, (He still had nightmares of demonic counts,) the being appeared to have five simple parts of his body. His arms and singular leg were all green spring-like appendages. His body also shared this, and connected all three. His head was more of a solid cube, with a top hat resting on his head. He had a large grin, and two white eyes.

"WELCOME, EVERYBODY, TO THE 118th FLORAL TALENT SHOW, SPONSORED BY U GOOM UNIVERSITY, GOOOOOOOO GOOMBAS!"

The crowd cheered, as the strange host waved.

"MY NAME IS JAMES RICHARD, YOUR HOST FOR TONIGHT! ALSO HAPPENING TONIGHT IS OUR HOST EXCHANGE PROGRAM, SO YOU WON'T SEE ROBERT HOOKE TONIGHT!"

The crowd gave a gigantic sigh.

"HEY! DON'T BE GLUM! GUESS WHO WE HAVE?"

James gestured, and a familiar woman stepped onto the stage.

"SAY HELLO TO VANNA T!"

Vanna T. clapped her hands excitedly, and Mario smiled as he saw another familiar face.

"Now then, let's get this show on our way! Can the following people please step up: Butters, Twig, Mallet, Rosy, Perry, Maria-"

At the sound of that, a Dayzee with green petals bumped Mario out of the way, and whispered into James's ear.

"Oh, sorry Maria."

"It's OK," she answered, before getting down and helping Mario up. Mario got onto the stage to join the other competitors.

"Anyways, after that goof-up, Mario, with an O at the end, Kammy, Koostodian and Goombud."

At the sound of this, a Dayzee with blue petals and covered in dirt got onto the stage, along with a Goomba wearing a U Goom T-shirt.

"No, Goom and Bud. Goombud, one name…"

The two sighed and got off the stage. When Goombud climbed up, Goom shot him a dirty look, causing Goombud to squeak in fright and fall down the stairs. The crowd laughed as Goombud climbed up, his face red from embarrassment.

"Anybody else? No? OK, that's it. Now then, let us get on our way! The first part of the show is a quiz!"

The curtains shut, and when they opened, all of the contestants were paired up on a podium. The only person who wasn't was Mallet, standing alone.

"NOW THEN, before we begin… Vanna T. has a shocking announcement!"

Vanna stepped forward and began reading from a notecard.

"…" She squeaked.

"Aww… she's sigh. Do you want me to say it?"

Vanna nodded.

"Ahem, whoever answers this first question will be granted a helpful reward to get them through the next challenge! Let's get started! The first question is this…."

"How many times has U Goom won at Strikers?"

8 times

20 times

64 times

0 times

Kammy buzzed.

"Kammy?"

"20 times!"

"CORRECT! TELL THEM WHAT THEY WON, VANNA!"

Vanna shuffled on her feet.

"Oh right. Sorry doll. YOU HAVE WON THE RIGHT TO NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE SECOND CHALLENGE!"

"… Is that good?"

"…Yes."

Kammy and Koostodian cheered.

"Wait… Only Kammy gets the reward!"

"…Oh." Koostodian said, and shook Kammy's hand.

"ANYWAYS! TO THE QUESTIONS! Whoever answers 3 questions wins the 1st round!"

"QUESTION 1!"

The participants were given many different questions that seem exciting, but only if you were there. So, we cut to the last question.

"QUESTION 9! Who is the current leader of the Shadow Sirens?"

Mallet and Rosy both hit the buttons at the same time. They glared at each other, both tied at 2 points.

"Beldam!" Rosy shouted.

"WRONG! Beldam is a servant!"

"The Shadow Queen!" Mallet exclaimed cheerfully.

"Wrong little buddy! The _current_ leader!"

Mario was scratching his head when Twigs hit the button, who hadn't said a single word through the entire game, and only had two points thanks to his partner Butters.

"Twigs?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Well, this was a very tricky question due to the fact that you said current. The Shadow Queen was defeated by some mysterious heroes, who had the help of Professor Frankly, and archaeological professor. Beldam was also an optimal choice, but I remembered that she had given up her leadership somehow, and the fact that you said Beldam was a servant confirmed this. I know that Vivian left, betraying her sisters for the mysterious heroes. Doopliss joined them, I know that, but the fact that he now pursues a career in acting, alongside Madame Flurrie proves otherwise. This left Marilyn, the last of the three sisters, and I was thinking that when I remembered something. Vivian had made up with her sisters, and now lead them, making sure they would not pursue nefarious deeds or harm anyone else. So, I would have to say that Vivian is the current leader of the Shadow Sirens."

"… That's… correct. Excellent wording…"

"…"

"Anyways… Butters and Twigs both win the round…"

"YIPPEE!" The Wiggler squealed, and jumped in the air with Twigs.

"Now then, we're going to allow you to rest for a bit, but I think we should give you a glimpse of your prize. Vanna T., please do the honors…"

Vanna T. shuffled to the center of the stage, pulled out a remote control, and pushed a button. A chain dangled down, a hook carrying a necklace. It was interlocked with golden chains, and the entryways of every link held a gemstone. In the center was an orange crystal. In Mario's overalls, Prince Voib gasped.

"What is it?" Mario whispered.

"We have to win that necklace," Prince Voib replied, "That's the crystal for Guilt…"

 **PaintBrushJr: Hey guys. I am super sorry for this late update. I promise you that I'm going to try and keep a consistent schedule. However, I have a little contest of my own.**

 **I could've said that this was the 64** **th** **contest, but I want to be surprising. The 118** **th** **actually is important. Why? Also, the host's name and his assistant's both are peculiar. Tell me why I named them this, and I'll give you absolutely nothing…**

 **Well, I'll give you a shout-out, but I can't do anything else.**

 **Stay creative, and again, sorry.**


	7. Chapter 1 Pt 3 Cheating Sometimes Wins

_**Chapter 1: At All Costs**_

 _ **Chapter 3: Cheating Sometimes Wins**_

"Wait, what?" Goombud squealed after Mario had explained this all to him.

"I know you said the crystal was nearby, but not like this!" Mario yelled, and various passerby stared at him like he was crazy.

It was just after the quiz show. Mario and Goombud had sat on a bench next to the shop, and Mario had filled Goombud in on their predicament.

"So… let me get this straight. This entire competition, which we joined for fun, I might add, has now turned into a mad race to grab the necklace, lest our entire journey fails. We just started this! Cut us a break!"

"… You've been awfully quiet Prince Voib," Mario remarked, and the orb only muttered something incoherent.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Mario exclaimed, his voice rising.

"YES I DID!" Prince Voib cried, causing some old Piranha Plants to pop out of the ground and stare at the two.

"Loons," One muttered, and they both burrowed into the ground again.

Prince Voib was muttering again, "I had a hunch that Guilt would use an item of value to find a good host, and I thought the talent show was a good place to look…"

He stayed silent, and Mario pocketed him, "We need to find a way to get that necklace, or at the very least, the crystal on it. That means that one of us HAS to win."

"Should we tell Perry, Kammy, Koostodian or Rosy?" Goombud asked.

"No!" Prince Voib cried, his voice muffled by Mario's overall pocket, "They'll think you're loons! We don't tell them unless we have to!"

Mario sighed. Were things ever easy for him?

….

"WELCOME TO THE 2nd PART OF THE 118th FLORAL TOWN TALENT SHOW, SPONSORED BY U GOOM UNIVERSITY! IN THIS CHALLENGE, WATCH IN AMAZEMENT AS OUR COMPETITORS DO SOME FIGHTING MANEUVERS!

We have decided to allow teams for this one. Teams, state your names.

"Mario and Goombud!" The two shouted. No one else decided to say anything.

"GREAT! Now then, allow me to make one more thing clear. It does not just matter that you beat the opponent, you must do so in a creative and entertaining fashion! Can you handle that?"

The competitors nodded.

"Now then, Kammy, come this way and relax as you watch everyone fight. If you lose the fight, or are not entertaining enough, you're kicked out. Good luck… First up, it's Mallet vs. Twigs! GO!"

Mallet and Twigs stood (or floated, in Twigs case) on opposite ends of the stage. Twigs began to bring a little leaf up, and was twirling it, when a hammer fell out of the top of the stage and crashed onto his head. He crumpled, and Mallet quickly rushed onto him, juggling him with hammers, before digging a small hole and putting Twigs in it. All that could be seen was a propeller-shaped sprout.

"GREAT! That was entertaining and creative! Next, it is Rosy vs. Perry!"

The two stood against each other.

"GO!"

Rosy began to sing a nice song, but Perry cut her off with a well-timed wing and a kick to the face. Then Rosy started doing her thing.

She faced the sky, and her petals started twirling around. Rosy flew up in the air, and then slammed down, straight onto Perry. Perry crumpled, and Rosy began to sing, causing her to fall asleep. A few jabs and kicks, then it was over, and Rosy cheered.

"GREAT! How creative! I've never seen any Amazy Dayzee fly before!"

Rosy blushed, and walked off the stage.

"We've got Butters and Goombud's group next!"

Goombud looked shocked, "Umm, I think you mean Mario's team…"

James checked his clipboard, with much bouncing involved, "Nope, it says Goombud's team. Do not change."

Goombud stared at Mario, and he gave a wink, "Aw shucks… Thanks Mario."

"Now that the friendship fest is over, you're up against the Wiggler, whose name is Butters! Is that not just adorable!"

Mario, Goombud and Butters all got up on the stage.

"Good luck!" Butters said cheerfully, and the fight began.

….

"That's Butters, the adorable Wiggler. But we all know Wigglers, right? They are pretty much the sweetest things on earth, then you step on a flower and they attempt to bury you deep, deep, deep, deep into the ground…"

"You… you stepped on a flower? BUTTERS WILL AVENGE YOU!"

Butters suddenly grew mad with anger and began slamming the ground, creating large shockwaves. Mario jumped over them, as well as Goombud, who continued reading.

"We have to be creative to beat him, right? Well, Wigglers can grow extra segments if they feel the need to. So, if we make Butters have so many segments and rear up, well… you get the rest…"

Mario nodded and decided to try his new "Jump Smash." He jumped up into the air, pulled out his hammer, and forced himself downward, slamming Butters in the face, and creating a shockwave that dealt extra damage to all of his parts.

"Oh, you step on a flower then hurt Butters' parts? IT IS ON!"  
He grew 2 extra segments, then began to circle around Mario and co.

"Wait for it… Wait for it… NOW MARIO!"

Mario jumped, managing to hit Butters' head as he tried to bite Mario, then dealt some extra damage to all of the parts.

"OW-OW WOW!" Butters stopped making a circle and charged back to his end of the stage.

Goombud decided to just do a charge, hitting all of Butters parts, before back flipping back to the center of the stage.

This process continued for some time, before Butters was red with anger, and Mario could swear that the flower on his head was on fire.

"IT'S TIME FOR MY SHOCKWAVE THAT WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE TO BUTTERS!"

Butters raised all 50 of his segments into the air, and Mario kicked him. He toppled over, and slammed into the ground…

Hard…

All 50 segments flew off, and all that was left was Butters' head.

….

"Ouchy…" He muttered, before his head rolled off the stage.

"… ASTOUNDING! CONGRATULATIONS GOOMBUD'S TEAM!"

The stage clapped.

"Unfortunately, we have had nobody challenge Koostodian yet, so, he gets to fight who he chooses!"

Koostodian examined the participants, and pointed at Mario and Goombud, "Are you ready to fight a warrior of my caliber?"

"You're a janitor," Mario replied.

"… Point taken."

The two lined up on opposite ends of the stage, but not before Koostodian healed him with a mushroom.

"Let's fight honorably…"

The fight begins.

….

Koostodian stood at one end of the stage, quietly mopping it.

"That's Koostodian, the janitor of… wait, you already know this! Anyways, he was, as you should know, once a member of the army, or military, or whatever. You've seen him in action, and know that if he feels as though all of his honor is gone, will do a Clean Sweep, brushing us away like dust. You have two options: Get hit occasionally, or guard that attack with your life! It's not easy though!"

Mario nodded, and bounced off Koostodian's head, forcing him to flop to the ground, before doing another jump.

Koostodian quickly got up, and began mopping the ground, before spinning into his shell and slamming into Goombud, and whacking him with his mop, still hanging outside of his shell.

"Ow… Who knew that a mop could hurt so bad..?"

Goombud proceeded to use the power of Love, healing himself and then doing massive damage to Koostodian. Mario decided to do a Jump Smash, but Koostodian did something shocking. He twirled his mop in the air, grabbing Mario and flinging him off his hammer. He then grabbed it, and proceeded to wail on Mario.

"…OUCH!" James said on the sidelines.

"Mario, are you OK?" Goombud squealed, but Koostodian wasn't done.

He quietly mopped the floor, then doused Goombud in a bucket of water.

"BLAGH! I feel all soggy…"

Indeed, Goombud was soggy, and the wetness caused him to get decreased in attack, speed, and defense.

Koostodian took advantage of this by wailing on Mario again.

Goombud gave Mario a mushroom, as Koostodian quietly twirled his mop upwards.

Mario decided this was a perfect opportunity and slammed Koostodian with his hammer normally, causing him to flop onto his shell.

Koostodian attempted to get up and failed.

Goombud managed to get dry again, and proceeded to trample over Koostodian.

Mario did a Jump Smash, slamming onto Koostodian's belly, and carrying him away with a shockwave. The battle was over.

….

"WINNERS! GOOMBUD'S TEAM!"

Mario and Goombud cheered, throwing their hands, existent or not, up into the air.

"Now then, it's time to get some sleep. The finale will be up soon."

Rosy quickly ran up to Mario as Koostodian nodded to him and walked towards Kammy.

"DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE KNOCKED OUT TWIGS?" grumbled Rosy, "They're stopping the show for a bit to check for other traps. I can't believe Mallet!"

"Wait…" Goombud said, "Did you see Mallet's face when that happened?"

"YES!" Rosy stamped her feet, "He was totally expecting it! You could see recognition in his eyes!"

"Somber recognition though," Goombud countered, "He was expecting it, but he wasn't happy about it."

"WHY WOULDN'T HE BE HAPPY ABOUT IT?" Rosy yelled, jumping angrily up and down.

"That's why," Mario stated, as he pointed at Mallet.

As he was walking off the stage, his head down, the citizens threw empty cups at him, booing the whole time. Mallet entered the inn, where more banging and crashing was heard.

"SO? That's what he gets for being a big cheater!" Rosy puffed out her cheeks.

"What if someone is trying to frame him for cheating though, maybe because they cheated themselves..?" Mario explained, and recognition dawned in Goombud's eyes.

"You think someone cheated in an earlier competition and Mallet was blamed for it?"

"Maybe. Rosy, you said the biggest competition was Mallet, right?" Rosy nodded.

"OK. Rosy, you worked on setting up the talent show. Was there any scoring chart?"

"…You can't be serious…"

"Rosy," Goombud explained, "This is our best chance of finding out who the cheater is. We're afraid if he or she gets that necklace, umm… bad things will happen…"

"Like what?" Rosy asked suspiciously.

"Just a gut feeling."

Rosy pondered this for a moment, "I'll see if I can get it."

She walked off.

….

After easily beating Kammy in the next round, Rosy walked up, holding a clipboard.

"You guys are not going to be happy…"

She showed them the scoring chart. All of it was blacked out except for the winner, "Mallet…"

"This just confirms it. We better watch out…"

"Anyways, I'm up against Mallet, then it'll be you against him."

"Have a little faith Rosy."

"Have you seen the guy? Just be careful. The blamer may try to make you mincemeat."

Rosy got on the stage, and Mallet just sighed. Rosy attempted to sing, but hammers and nails fell on top of her, burying her into a pile.

"Mallet wins! Goombud's team, are you ready?"

"… No."  
"WELL TOO BAD! GET UP THERE!" James was enthusiastic, but Vanna T. had a worried look on her face.

The two climbed up as Rosy climbed out of the pile.

"I'm going to check for traps up there… Good luck guys…"

She climbed upwards on the stage, until she was hidden by the curtains.

Mallet and Mario both faced each other.

"… Good luck…" The Hammer Bro muttered, and the fight began…

….

"That's Mallet, all-time winner of the talent show. He is harder than a mountain, so I think you're going to have to use trickery to stop him. Since the supposed cheater is attempting to blame their cheating on him, let's see if we can get Mallet cheated on…

That came out wrong…"

Mallet started by throwing three hammers in succession, but Mario dodged it by sliding towards Mallet. A trapdoor opened near where he was standing, and Mario back-flipped to his starting position. He jumped over Mallet, and a ton of hammers and nails just fell on them both, dealing tons of damage. Goombud used the power of Love to heal Mario, and deal damage to Mallet.

Mallet charged at Mario, just as the lights went out, and he got a few free hits.

"Is he smiling Goombud?" Mario asked.

"No. He appears to just be trying to get this over with."

Goombud charged at him, as trapdoors opened around his feet. One opened under Mallet, and he fell. The crowd gasped, and a few people appeared to be looking guilty.

Mario did a jump smash as a nail appeared over him, but Mario did something unexpected, and launched the nail from whence it came. A voice appeared to yell in pain.

"ACK!"

"Wait a minute…" Goombud said, "That voice sounds familiar.

The sounds of chains dangled up top, and lights fell on Mallet and Goombud.

"We have to finish this battle quickly, otherwise we won't catch the cheater. Mario, let me try to do something. Attack Move Koostodian!"

Goombud did a battle cry and charged at Mallet, whose eyes grew wide as Goombud socked him in the stomach. As he fell down, he opened his eyes to find Mario falling down on him, mallet in hand. Silence, and then…

"GOOMBUD'S TEAM WINS THE TALENT SHOW!"

….

The crowd cheered, throwing confetti, and Mario offered Mallet up.

"WAIT! THERE'S A CHEATER UP TOP!" Goombud shouted, "EVERYONE, SURROUND THE STAGE!"

Mallet nodded and jumped off, heading to the back. Twigs planted some seeds in the ground, rubbing the bandage on his head, and some bamboo popped up, spreading around the stage. The crowd created a wide circle as the heroes climbed to the top. All they found was Rosy, sporting several bruises. Mario and Goombud helped her up.

"They got away just when you said 'Attack Move Koostodian.' I was able to get this though."

Rosy handed them the necklace, and Mario held it in the air excitedly. All of the gems set in the necklace glittered beautifully, especially the yellow crystal in the center.

Mario and Goombud jumped down the stage.

…...

"So… this is Guilt's power source?" Mario conferred with Goombud.

"Apparently so. I wouldn't recommend wearing that."

"Definitely."

"There's just one thing that seems off to me."

"What is it Goombud?"

Goombud began to pace in the inn's bedroom, "How did the traitor get away? Why did Rosy not say who it was? Why were they getting the necklace, and why did Rosy hand us it?"

"Goombud, are you saying..?"

Goombud looked up, "I think Rosy is the cheater."

"But then, why would she give us the necklace?"

Goombud shrugged, "I don't know, but I guess we can leave now, right Voib?"

Mario pulled Voib out of his pocket.

"Hey guys? So, are you getting the necklace tomorrow or what?"

"…Voib, what do you mean?" Mario asked.

"Well obviously you don't have it right now. That thing radiates intense guilt! We would all feel pretty, well, guilty, about our past mistakes and mishaps."

Mario pulled off the crystal from the necklace, and inspected his gloves. Yellow smudges were on his hand.

"IT'S A FAKE! WE HAVE TO GET ROSY!"

Mario pocketed Voib and rushed outside, where a celebration was going on.

Mallet waved to the two and walked up, "Hey, I just want to thank you for clearing my name. Also, good game guys. It's nice to see someone else win. I only kept coming because-"

"Sorry! No time!" Goombud interrupted Mallet before pushing him out of the way.

Mario and Goombud ran towards the stage, past the springy James.

"OH! Our winners would like to say something!"

The crowd began chanting, "SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH… huh?"

Mario and Goombud were climbing up the stage, onto a catwalk. There was Rosy, holding a necklace with an orange crystal.

"ROSY!"

She quickly stared at the two, and her face switched to so many looks in a few seconds: Curiosity, shock, anger, sadness, then a look of… guilt.

"I'm sorry…" She said wistfully, and she put on the necklace.

The stage promptly exploded.

….

"Are you OK?" A voice asked Mario. He groaned, and for the second time in a week, opened his eyes in a bed, feeling as though Tubba Blubba just sat on him.

The array of people standing over his bedside were Koostodian, Perry, Kammy, Mallet, Twigs, a Flutter and Goombud. Somebody felt missing, and Mario immediately sat upright,

"Rosy's the cheater!"

Perry looked crestfallen, "We know. I think we need to show you something."

Leaning on Perry, Mario walked slowly out of the inn, Kammy and Koostodian behind. The stage was gone, and in its place was a smoking wreck. Words were burned in the ground, and Mario could almost hear the mask's voice after the bridge had fallen, and Rosy's voice as she gripped the necklace.

Two words burned into the ground, that before had been used as a throw-away apology.

"That's not all she did…" Kammy said, pointing at several buildings all smoking. The amount of injured people on the ground were astronomical, and as soon as Mario had left the inn, a springy-host took his place, his hat burned at several marks. Other people were crying uncontrollably, crying out names or wearing fake smiles as tears fell down their cheeks.

"Guilt…" Prince Voib said, not even caring about being secret anymore.

"How did Rosy do this?" Perry asked, flabbergasted, "She was just a flower… Why did she do this?"

"I'd like to introduce you guys to someone, and you must keep it secret."

Mario pulled out Prince Voib, who explained everything. In the end, Koostodian, Kammy and Perry's jaws were dropped.

"So… the emotions are back. Rosy got… guilt…" Perry sat down, "I would never have thought that… she would never cheat…"

"That explains the scoring chart too…" Goombud said.

"Mallet was blamed for Rosy attempting to cheat… I can't believe it…"

"How could she..?"

"Why did she..?"

"What did she..?"

As the group just sat on the ground, utterly shocked, Goombud had looked at a map.

"Guys… You might want to look at this."

The map was of Firm Fields, that was obvious, but a new place had popped up.

"Voib, didn't you say that some emotions didn't hide in large "get me!" spots?"

"…Yeah?"

On the map, a new landmark had popped up. A grey castle, with vines growing all around it. It was marked in black as night ink, "Chateau Shadow."

….

"Guys, we're going to have to go if we want to save Rosy."

Mario and Goombud were standing at Floral Town's exit.

"Please guys, try and help this town…"

"You can count on me," Mallet said.

"With honor," Koostodian saluted.

"I will, then maybe we'll see each other soon," Kammy replied, "But not too soon."

She and Koostodian shared a chuckle. Koostodian blushed, and Mario caught on.

"You can count on us!" said Butters, who apparently molted into a Flutter.

"…" Twigs replied.

"Well then, I guess this is-"

"Wait."

Perry walked towards the group, "If you guys are going to help Rosy, you're going to need me. I'm her best friend…"

She stayed silent for a moment, then her face twisted into pure determination, "Plus, I want to kick the butt of whatever monster dared do this to her! No one touches Rosy without getting smacked by me!"

Mario nodded, "OK, then let's get a move on."

 _ **[Perry rejoined your party, and shall kick the butt of Guilt!]**_

 **PaintBrushJr: This is definitely not a strong chapter, more filler than anything, but yeah. By the way, fun fact: Mallet was originally called Nails and was actually going to be the boss of this area. I'll explain more when I complete this story, as I'm going to have a "concept" chapter. Anyways, stay creative!**


	8. Chapter 1 Pt 4 Tears with a Smile

_**Chapter 1: At All Costs**_

 _ **Part 4: Tears with a Smile**_

 **PaintBrushJr: I'm going to start a tradition: Every boss will have a part above it called "Suggested Theme." What this means is that while, if this were to one day become a true game, (sighs happily,) that this would of course have different themes for each boss. But because those aren't made, each boss instead has a theme handpicked by me that I feel fits the boss. So, enjoy.**

Perry, Goombud and Mario all are tromping through the fields, attempting to avoid enemies whenever possible. Some Know-It-Alls, as Goombud called them, just completely disrespected the right of counterattacking, causing Perry to scratch him to oblivion with the power of wings.

Goombud continued to give helpful commentary, and Mario was mostly their guide.

"So, according to what that orb said-"

"PRINCE! I am Prince Voib, so call me either that, Voib, or Prince. People find it rude to just call people their species or form. What if I called all Toads Toad? Or all Goombas Goomba? No, we call them by their proper names, not just their species like some uncivilized RPG!"

"… Whatever. The orb said that the emotions are free? So… you are the embodiment of Love, Goombud?"

As Mario attempted to muffle Voib's angry retorts, Goombud answered her, "Well yes… "

"So were you-"

"YOU WILL HAVE KARMA ON YOU! I SWEAR IT!"

Prince Voib was muffled again, and Perry repeated her sentence, "So were you using your Love powers or whatever to make Rosy..?"

"Wait… NO! It's not like that… I think…"

Perry laughed as Goombud blushed a deep red.

"Anyways, now to serious matters, you know where we are, right Mario?"

Mario nodded, having a compass out to track which way they were moving, "The castle is on the edge of the ocean, so even if we miss it, we'll just have to travel along the wall until we find it."

Perry nodded, and the three set off, but not until Voib suddenly stopped making muffled noises. Mario let go of him, and Voib started rambling in a familiar voice.

"So, Guilt found a host?"

"Yes, although I worry."

"Of what Longing? Of what?"

Mario stifled Goombud from giving them away a gasp. Perry had to use her own hands.

"Shush… do you hear something? Hopelessness, check the noise."

There was the sound of fabric for a few minutes, then silence.

"Nothing Longing."

"… Humph… Well then, just be careful. I want you to switch all of the rooms."

"Very well," Hopelessness stated, followed by more fabric shifting, and a grumbling motion, like stone grinding against stone.

"We're good Longing. Now then, will you tell me why you are still holding that stone together?"

Longing sighed, "I would prefer not to have a sudden catastrophe."

"Because there would be no world left to rule?"

A sudden crashing noise, and the audio shut off.

"… Prince Voib, what was that?" Perry asked, her shock stopping her little game.

"Umm… I think we were just given a peek inside The Palace of Emotions. Longing and Hopelessness, his closest lieutenant, appeared to be conferring…"

"About taking over the world…" Perry silently finished.

"No, that can't be right," Voib defended, "Longing never appeared to seem like the taking-over-the-world type."

"But," Goombud countered, "Hopelessness, his closest lieutenant, mentioned this…"

"We shouldn't dismiss the possibility," Mario said, "All villains typically go for world domination."

"I think the real question is this," Perry said, and stared at Voib, "How did you do this?"

The orb shuffled in Mario's hand, "It's possible that the way trapped me in this… round sphere of prince-ness was through some similar magic that sealed the emotions in the palace."

"That makes no sense," Perry said, "How could you both cast similar spells?"

"Voib did have the scepter from Longing in his possession for a bit, and it's possible that's how," Goombud explained.

"Whatever the case is, this could possibly give us a direct pipeline to Peach and Toadsworth," Mario said hopefully.

"Possibly…" Voib said, and the group decided to mull this over while traveling.

….

After a long, hard, and sweaty long walk, the group decided to stop and gaze at the towering structure above them.

Giant rafflesias with orange petals and yellow insides hovered in the air, their giant stems cutting short and ending in propellers. On the highest and biggest one was Chateau Shadow.

It was hard to see the structure with the sun burning into everyone's eyes, but that had to be the Chateau, if the rafflesias didn't give that away.

Mario furled up his map, and the three began to hop onto the flowers, helping each other when needed.

The wind blew silently, and the many noises of nature that had filled the air as the group had walked through the fields were dead silent.

Every now and then, the group heard what sounded like gentle sobbing, or the words, "I'm sorry," faintly, but they were so quiet and quick to blow away that the group dismissed them as mere illusion.

They finally reached the top and looked at Chateau Shadow. The castle was easily towering above them. It looked like the typical castle, with a large door and a tower on each side, each decorated with a stained glass window of a theatre mask. The left one had the Comedy mask. The right one had the Tragedy mask. A terrace spanned the two sides, a doorway on each side, and the entire castle was gray, with a darker shade for the towers' roofs. Thorny vines curled around the entire castle, covering the main entrance.

Perry pulled out her wings and threw them, cutting them away.

"See. You would have been lost without me," and smirking, she forced open the doors of the castle.

….

The entrance inside the castle chillingly reminded Mario of both of Koopa Bros. Fortress and Hooktail Castle.

Purple carpet with a gold trim extended from the entrance to the two stairs on opposing ends, and split off into a T-shape to go up the two, connecting to a 2nd floor that connected the two stairways. Two doors were on the end of the 2nd floor, and one in the middle, locked with, well, a lock. Two other doors were on the 1st floor, under the steps.

Windows poured light into the room, and a stained glass window over the 2nd floor's middle door shone the most. It depicted a happy Amazy Dayzee sitting in the grass… Rosy…

"Umm… we only saw two windows outside… right?" Goombud asked, trembling.

Lightning suddenly flashed outside, despite being a sunny day, and Goombud screamed.

"It's okay Goombud, it's only lightning…" Perry muttered, slightly quaking in her boots, but attempting a brave expression.

"It's not just that… look…"

Mario and Perry looked at the stained glass window that once portrayed Rosy. Instead of her smiling in grass, she was crying in a field of dead grass.

"…This place is giving me the creeps," Mario muttered, "But it could be worse. I could be in The Palace of Shadow…"

"The what?" Goombud asked.

"Another time."

Mario walked to the door under the left staircase and opened it.

On the other side was a staircase leading downwards. As the group filed downward, Mario first and hammer ready, candles burst into black flame, lighting the place in a dark glow.

At the end was a brick hallway, and on one side were jail cells, their entrances covered in chains. Inside them were Bub-ulbs, Piranha Plants and Amazy Dayzees. But they all were on the ground, almost looking like husks of their normal selves, dried up and shivering. A Comedy Mask was at the end of the hallway, and Mario watched as a trapdoor opened under it, raising a platform with a bucket of water.

In curiosity and horror, Mario watched as the water in the bucket floated upwards, into the mask's eyes, completely disappearing. All of the prisoners were watching this with undying thirst.

"This is sick…" Perry said, and using her wings, cut open all of the jail cells. While she was doing this, the mask finished absorbing its bucket of water, which went down the trapdoor again, and a new bucket of water took its place.

Perry finished cutting the chains and opened the cell doors, "You guys are free. Quickly, get out of here."

But they all just stood in their spots. A Piranha Plant croaked out, his voice raspy, "Water…"

Goombud quickly grabbed the bucket of water from the mask and slowly walked into one of the cells. But as soon as he walked through a doorway, the water evaporated, causing Goombud to put it on the trapdoor again to allow another bucket. He repeated this process, but in the end, not even a drop made it through the cell.

"We'll be back with water, we promise," Mario said, and a Piranha Plant cracked a thin smile, his lips all chapped.

"Thank… you…"

The trio walked out, Goombud still carrying a bucket of water.

Perry rushed outside and vomited, before walking back inside, "This place is disgusting. Legitimately disgusting…"

"Let's find a way to bring them water…" Mario replied, and they walked into the door on the right side.

A similar fashion followed suit, with black candles lighting the way to a dungeon downstairs.

Jail cells lined the walls, and while they were also filled with Piranha Plans, Bub-ulbs and Amazy Dayzees, they were not withered away.

They all sloshed around, almost floating in the water that filled the room.

A Tragedy Mask was at the end, an endless amount of tears flowing outwards, filling empty buckets, and repeating the process in reverse of the other room.

Perry grabbed an empty bucket and vomited into it, her cheeks having a green tinge. The vomit evaporated, and Perry placed it onto the trapdoor

An overstuffed Amazy Dayzee began to speak, water pouring out of its mouth the entire time, "End this…"

Goombud looked at the bucket full of water, and you could almost see the lightbulb go off in his head.

When the next empty bucket came, Goombud replaced it with his bucket full of water.

The Tragedy Mask stopped crying, and its eyes and frown flipped around into a smile. The new Comedy Mask sucked all of the water away, including the ones inside the prisoners, causing them to revert to normal and jump for joy.

The Comedy Mask then uttered a poem.

"Behind a smile I lie.

Of Joy I show to you all.

Behind my mask I try.

To let the tears never fall."

The mask chuckled, and its features melted away, leaving a circle hanging on the wall, before it too evaporated. In its place was half of a gold ring, which Mario picked up.

The prisoners ran out of the cells, and back up the staircase, all shouting the words, "Thank you!"

Goombud, now carrying an empty bucket, walked back up the staircase, and back into the room of dried prisoners, and placed his empty bucket in place of the full one.

The Comedy Mask's features turned upside-down, and tears began falling from the new Tragedy Mask.

A thin line of water flooded into the cells, with the prisoners furiously lapping it up.

Their dried faces slowly became normal, and their once brown tinge burst into color.

They all ran out of their cells, all of them yelling, "Thank you!"

The mask stopped crying and uttered a poem,

"I am what is hidden behind the mask.

Tears I only cry in bed.

I never put someone up to the task

Of stopping the path I tread."

The mask sniffled, and its features melted away, before the mask evaporated, leaving half of a golden ring.

Mario picked it up and combined it with the other half, revealing a small broken part at the end.

"This must be a key," Goombud stated, "Probably for the door on the 2nd floor. Speaking of which, we should probably check those two doors on the end. They might contain the last two parts of the key."

"Although, I wonder. Why would Guilt leave these keys here?" Mario asked.

"Maybe they tried to destroy the key, but Rosy tossed the bits in each room, attempting to help us?" Perry asked, her voice carrying a shred of hope.

"Likely, but how would Rosy get into these rooms?" Goombud asked.

"…I don't know," was Perry's answer.

The trio climbed back up the staircase and onto the 2nd floor, taking the door to the left.

Inside the room was a garden of thorny vines. At the end, an Amazy Dayzee was crying, her head clutched in her arms.

"Please… stop… Why is this happening..?"

Perry immediately rushed to her aid, cutting away all of the thorny vines with her wings.

"Are you OK?" she asked the little Dayzee.

The Dayzee got up, her face one of shock, "I can't let Mom and Dad see me like this…"

She dried her tears, and faded away.

In her place was a small bar, broken off at the ends.

Perry stared in shock, and picked up the piece of the key, walking back through the vines.

She gave it to Mario, "Would it surprise you to say that I am honestly scared of this place?"

"I know how you feel," Mario replied, and the three walked out of the room, and into the one directly across from them.

They entered a towering room, with a stained glass window high above it, showing the face of Rosy.

A horizontal rail connected it to a pit, with Mario and his partners on a thin bridge to the side. Directly across from the group was a door with an exclamation symbol on it. The door had a small window, and through it was the same Amazy Dayzee in a fetal position on a bed, calmly breathing.

Perry attempted to open the door, but it didn't budge.

She struck it with her wing, and the platform lowered a bit. The Amazy Dayzee opened her eyes, but the platform rose back up, and the Amazy Dayzee closed them again.

Perry hit the door with her wing twice, and the platform lowered twice, the Dayzee opening her eyes and beginning to rock. The platform rose, and the Dayzee stopped rocking and closed her eyes.

"Perry," Mario said slowly, "You're going to hate this."

"I know…"

Perry begin to repeatedly hit the door with her wings, the platform lowering down. The Dayzee opened her eyes, began to rock, and then start whispering the word, "No." The more Perry did it, the louder the child got, rocking harder, crying, and covering her ears.

"No. No. No. NO. NO. NO! NO! NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!"

The platform lowered enough for Mario and Goombud to get on it. Perry stopped throwing her wings, and the platform began rising, the child calming down the higher it rose. At the top, the stained glass window had changed Rosy's face from a happy expression to a crying one. Mario grabbed the end of the key, with two prongs sticking out. The two jumped down.

The Dayzee disappeared.

Perry had tears in her eyes, as well as Goombud and Mario.

"I think we just saw a bit of Rosy's childhood," Mario stated.

"I never knew," Perry said, rubbing the tears away.

The two exited the room and walked towards the center.

Mario put all four pieces together, and they glowed to form a fixed key. Mario inserted into the lock, turned it, and opened the door.

On the other end was a gallery of paintings.

….

The paintings depicted Rosy in a nice calm mood. The group slowly walked down the hallway, and her expression slowly changed, her getting sadder and sadder. She began crying, and tear marks slowly appeared on her face. She began crouching into a little ball and facing away from the paintings. They slowly zoomed out, and a shaft of sunlight focused on her. Thorny vines slowly appeared, forming a heart shape. The picture zoomed out, revealing blackness beyond the vines. The group reached the end of the hallway, and as Mario opened the door, lightning flashed, the last painting giving Rosy the same mask Mario had seen at the bridge.

The group walked through the door, revealing two winding staircases.

The group took the left spiral staircase. On their side, they slowly walked upwards, revealing that they had chosen the side with the Comedy Mask window. They looked at the other side, which had the Tragedy Mask. As they climbed upwards, lightning flashed, and the windows changed to have the other mask peeking behind the other. The group reached the top, revealing a doorway, and walked outwards.

They fell down, revealing that they had walked out of the wall, and slammed onto the terrace.

Goombud landed on a vine, and squealed a bit.

Once the group removed the large thorn out of his backside, the group took the left route and walked through. A pot stood in the center of the room, with a watering can. A small vine peeked out of the dirt.

"I know what we have to do…" Goombud stated, "But the question is how much time we'll have."

"What do you mean Goombud?" Perry asked.

"Have you seen those vines growing everywhere? I'm guessing that when we water this vine, it'll grow everywhere. We may be able to go and destroy this twisted place, hopefully disrupting Guilt, and saving many others from the fate we saw downstairs. We may be able to save Rosy."

That settled it. Perry nodded, "Okay then. Let's go."

Goombud watered the vine. It didn't do anything.

"It'll take a bit. Let's go on the other side. There should be another on the other side, seeing as how this place liked symmetry."

"I think you forgot about the 2nd floor," Mario stated.

"We don't talk about that," Perry countered.

The group walked on the terrace into the other room, where behold, the same scene was laid out, albeit, with the can on the other side.

Goombud watered the vine, and the group walked to the center of the terrace. A thick rumbling filled the air.

Two vines broke through the towers, curling upwards and onto the roofs, sticking straight up. They also curled downwards, circling the terrace and walls, touching at the center of the terrace.

The wall cracked, and broke apart, revealing an entryway that the group walked through.

….

On the other side was a throne room. A purple carpet extended from their broken entryway to a throne that appeared to be made of obsidian, and two horns at the top of the chair. The cushions were purple and looked quite plush, with gold stitching on the edges.

An Amazy Dayzee was kneeling before the throne, filling the room with the sound of sobbing. Her petals appeared red, her body green.

"ROSY!" Perry cried, and began running towards her, before stopping when she looked at the throne again.

Hovering above the throne was Guilt's mask. One side was smiling, the other frowning.

It hauntingly stared at Perry.

"Here she writes all of her guilt. This is where she brings her problems. All she has done that she never should have…"  
Rosy began twitching, and Mario could see black lines slowly creeping across her petals.

"LET MY FRIEND GO!" Perry shouted desperately, "I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"…You are filled with such… perseverance. Read your friends mistakes. They are all laid out for you here."

Rosy and Guilt disappeared.

"GET BACK HERE! I'LL! I'LL! GAH!"

Perry slammed her fists on the ground, as a piece of paper fluttered down from the ceiling.

Mario, Goombud and Perry all got onto the ground and read it.

 _All That I Have Failed at_

The group read the long list. It went from things like, _"Forgetting to Brush My Teeth,"_ and, _"Jumping on the Bed When I was Told Not to,"_ to, _"Stealing a Pretty Necklace at Floral Town's Shop when I was 9,"_ and, _"Fighting the Teasing Kid at My School."_ The list extended on and on, until it ended on three final lines.

 _Cheating for the 5_ _th_ _time at Floral Town's Talent Show_

 _Blaming my Cheating on Mallet_

 _Stealing the Prize Necklace_

"She… She didn't…" Perry choked.

"I'm afraid so," Goombud stated.

Perry stayed silent, then with a look of determination on her face, got up.

"Let's go find them," She stated. Mario nodded.

"We should probably SAVE though…" warned Goombud, "I have a worse feeling."

"A worse feeling?" Mario asked.

"I've had a bad feeling since we entered this place."

Mario SAVED, and three exited the room.

….

Rosy was crying to the right of the group when they exited.

"Rosy! It's okay… I'm here Rosy…" Perry said, rushing to Rosy and hugging her.

"I'm your best friend. I'm here."

Rosy pushed Perry off and got up.

Her petals had turned white on the right side and black on the other. Her entire body was black. Then Rosy turned around.

Her face matched that of Guilt's mask. She was twitching.

"I am sorry…. Perry…." She gasped, tears running down the sad part of her face.

Perry kneeled down, "We're still friends…"

"I've done… so many wrong things…" Rosy gasped, her mask face flipping to that of pure sadness.

"You're OK Rosy… We all mess up…"

"…So many things… I can… never… Live down…"

"It's OK, Rosy…" Goombud said, "Now drop the thorn."

In Rosy's hand, she held the thorn Goombud had landed on. She was shivering, but she threw it over the edge. She switched to a happy mask

"Now Rosy, you're OK."

"…" Her mask flipped to Guilt's mask

"Rosy…" Mario warningly said.

"Perry… I'm afraid… I'm going to have to kill you…" She said, her mask flipping to happiness

"PERRY! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Perry used her wings to backflip out of the way as a vine slammed down where she used to be.

"I'm sorry…" The being that was once Rosy said, her face switching to the mix "But it must be done."

The fight began.

…

 **Suggested Theme: King Croacus Battle.**

….

"That's Resret, a horrifying combination of Rosette and Guilt. It's easy to tell what style of attack she'll use by her mask. If she's sad, she's probably going to hurt us in any way she can. If happy, she's probably going to switch the battlefield to her favor. If both… stuff's going to get crazy. The best way I can say it is this. Rosy's probably not going to get out of this without a few scratches. Remember, Perry's wings can hit multiple targets, so if there's too many things on the screen, you know what to do."

"Goombud, why are you referring to me in 3rd person?" Perry asked.

"…I don't know. Also, how did I get Resret's picture in my book? So many unanswered questions."

Resret's mask flipped to that of sadness as she swiped her face. Tears splattered at Mario, who jumped into the air to avoid it. The ground the tears touched sizzled.

Perry launched two wings at Resret. Mario performed a Jump Smash, which Resret blocked. Goombud charged at her, knocking into Resret's stomach.

Resret switched to a happy face as she raised her hand. Thorny vines circled around the terrace and creating Rosy a barricade. She then switched to sadness as those three walls shot thorns at the heroes, who had to do bizarre shapes and poses to dodge them.

Perry took a deep breath, then tossed her wing, smacking all three vines and Resret twice. The vines withered away and died, falling off the terrace.

Mario and Goombud both struck Resret in the stomach, via hammer and charging.

Resret gave a laugh as her face switched to Guilt's full mask, and then began to sob hysterically.

"This seems bad!" Goombud said, "Really bad."

"Perry! Can you fly us both?" Mario asked.

Perry nodded her head, "Barely, but I think I'll be able to do it. Let me prepare."

Goombud and Mario both did some damage to Resret. Perry attached her wings, and grabbed the duo, and just in the nick of time too, as Resret's face just began spraying toxic tears everywhere. The terrace bubbled and steamed, but the ground appeared to be safe as the trio fell down, landing expertly.

Resret switched to a happy face.

"Attack Mode: Koostodian!" Goombud yelled, and then tackled Rosy to the ground as Mario performed a Jump Smash. Perry did some extra damage by throwing her wings in.

Resret suddenly swayed as the entire castle rumbled. Three purple Piranha Plants burst from the ground, their mouths dripping with the same liquid as Resret's tears. She climbed onto one, and the plants sprayed their liquid everywhere, severely burning the group. Resret flicked a few tears to add good measure.

"Here goes!" Goombud said, and using his power of Love, healed the entire group while dealing major damage. The three plants died, their heads falling off, and the vines curled downward to form a barricade for Resret.

Perry cut down the wall as Mario jumped on Resret's head. She switched to Guilt's mask

"I'm so sorry…" She stated, "But I really have to do this… I… I… I JUST DON'T KNOW!"

She began sobbing. Her head began twirling around, and came off Resret's body, facing the sky. It was already effective as Perry threw up over the edge, but Resret wasn't done yet.

The mask began spraying tears like a fountain, and slowly flew through the air. Mario swung his hammer, effectively blocking the tears. But it wasn't over yet.

Vines encircled the terrace, and squeezed. The terrace effectively crumbled, and the group was left flying through the air, barely on a brick.

Resret's flying head swooped right of them, and Mario copied that, swinging his hammer to block the tears. It went for another flyby behind them, causing Mario to turn and swing.

Perry threw a few wings to try and disrupt Resret's flight pattern, damaging Resret slightly. Resret did seize crying, but flew overhead the group, and began sobbing again. Tears once again sprang out like a fountain, and Resret's head slowly twirled, spraying around and around, before the stream's got on top of the group.

Mario held his hammer high as best as he could, and Resret stopped, and stopped facing upwards, turning to face the group. It once again blasted streams, but the group jumped over it, and Resret began spinning around, creating a demented version of jump-rope for the group. Just as she began going too fast, the brick almost reached the ground, but vines caught it and brought it back upwards. The entire terrace fit together like a puzzle piece, and the vines squeezed together. The terrace magically repaired, similar to the key downstairs.

Resret's head reattached, and was really dizzy.

"TIME TO END THIS!" Goombud said.

"Allow me," Perry said, and put on her wings.

She swooped upwards, then went straight through Resret at the speed of light. She did this a few more times before landing on the ground and giving a thumbs up.

Resret twirled for a bit, and fell on the ground, defeated…

…...

"I… I… I…" Resret stammered, kneeling on the ground.

"I can't believe I did that…"

"I just…"

Guilt's mask shattered, and all of the color drained out of Rosy's body. She had red petals, a yellow face, a green body, and a chained necklace.

Perry rushed up to hug her, and Rosy hugged her to, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry…"

"…It's okay sis."

While they were hugging, Rosy threw off the necklace, and it shattered on the ground, the crystal still intact. A new crystal appeared out of Perry.

"Perseverance…" whispered Voib.

Mario walked up and the grabbed the two crystals.

 _ **[END OF CHAPTER!]**_

 _ **[After the long fight with Resret, the four safely made it back to Floral Town, reuniting Rosy with her parents. The place was mostly fixed up, and nobody seemed to know that Rosy was the cheater of the talent show. The list was thrown in a campfire at the night…**_

 _ **The next night, Voib explained to Perry that she was the host for Determination. So, bidding her parents and sister farewell, the group of three set out for Dove Town, where Voib hoped they could find clues as to where to go next.]**_

 _ **[Perry learned a new ability! Through the power of being the host of Determination, Perry has the ability to strike all enemies in a straight line, dealing more damage than Goombud's Love ability, due to perseverance being the will to push through all obstructions in your path, no matter how hard.]**_

 **PaintBrushJr: I thought I would add an end of chapter part after every… well chapter! I hope you guys will like the inclusion of Suggested Themes. One more thing: James Richard is actually Richard James… That name makes no sense to you, except if you studied up on the history of the slinky. He was the inventor of it. Robert Hooke was the inventor of the spring, and finally the Gamecube was released on November 18** **th** **, which is the 11** **th** **month. Mash it together and you get 118** **th** **. I doubted anyone would get that.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first part. I couldn't think of anything too creative, and I wanted the dungeon to have more, but have listening to Tower of Riddles from Thousand-Year Door, I decided that the dungeon was a bit… messed-up…**

 **Geez, we're not even at the obligatory spooky chapter yet… My mind is messed up.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Tomorrow, it's everyone favorite character…**

 **No not Dimentio…**

 **Not Fawful, though he is mine…**

 **No, not Mr. L.**

 **Get those Koopalings and Waluigi out of here!**

 **Yes, Luigi is popular…**

 **No, not Daisy!**

 **IT'S PEACH! It's Peach. Yeesh…**


	9. Interlude 1

_**Peach Interlude:**_

 _ **Just Peachy**_

"So… do you have any 8s?"

"Go Cheep-Cheep."

Peach and Toadsworth were playing cards in the grand room they were in. Longing had recently been here, conferring with what Peach assumed to be his lieutenant, and when she had said the words, "Because there would be no world left to rule?" Longing had lost his concentration on the orb, and it shattered more across the ground.

Of course, it had already shattered, thanks to Peach unable to control her body, but Longing was holding it together, presumably to make sure all of his emotions didn't fly out willy-nilly. Once it had shattered even more, Longing had lead Hopelessness out of the room, and shut the door. Now, the remains of it were scattered on the ground, and a deck of cards had appeared to keep Peach and her steward.

"Now then… Do you have any 7s, Princess?"

Peach reluctantly handed him a card.

"YES! One more pair and I win! Do you have any 3s?"

"Go Cheep-Cheep." Said Peach, "Now then. Do you have any 2s?"

Toadsworth handed her a card.

"Now then, any 4s?"

"No…"

"Any 10s?"

"No…"

"Any Princesses?"

"No…"

"Any 8s?"

"Yes…"

"You were holding out on me Toadsworth…"

Toadsworth grew a face of shock, as Peach had completed her out of all the Cheep-Cheep cards she had drawn, and managed to trick Toadsworth into giving her the final card, the one he had held out on her.

"We both win! Yay!" Peach politely clapped her hands, and Toadsworth slightly clapped.

"Now then, you are never cheating again, otherwise we're going to have issues Toadsworth…"

"I don't like games that are based on luck…" Toadsworth said, "Let's just do Roshambo…"

"…That is based on luck Toadsworth…"

"…Oh."

"Hey… I've been waiting patiently until you guys were done, so please don't start another game…"

The two looked around the room, but nobody was there.

"Hello?" Peach asked softly.

"Hello yello!" Said the voice back, and it giggled, "That doesn't seem to fit me at all. Listen, I'm down here, on the ground."

Peach looked at the ground, and picked up a piece of the broken orb, "All I see are glass shards."

"Congratulations! That's me!"

Peach screamed and dropped the piece, which shattered on the ground. She clutched her mouth in her hands in horror of what she just did.

"I'm also right there, to the left, right, I think one piece fell on the pillar, a bit got on Toadsworth's cane, a bit to the right, one above me, well, in a 2D perspective. Err… Anything else… I know I missed one… Oh right, the four that were once piece that you broke. Please don't do that. What if that was actually me, and not, you know, a telephone?"

Peach picked up a shard that looked like half of an orb. It had a black swirl and multiple colors moving around it.

"Who are you..? Probably something that's starts with a T, right?"

"…Wait, what?"

"Well, there was Twink, the star child who helped me deliver messages to Mario, Tec-XX, who allowed me to deliver messages, via email, as long as I taught him what love was, and then Thompson and Johnson, two Koopas who helped me escape Castle Bleck… umm… I think that's it… Oh right! Pain T! That poor Toad with the drained color needed my help to fill him in, and I did my best, so he helped me construct Holo-Peaches and…"

"Please, just stop. My name is Trince Toib."

"I KNEW IT!"

"Except the people who crowned me Prince and my parents weren't dumb, because my name is Prince Voib."

"…That's still kind-of odd…"

Prince Voib sighed.

"Listen, I think this piece is perfect. You know your tiara/crown thing? Could you do me a favor and remove the red gemstone in the front of it?"

Peach reluctantly took off her crown and pulled the red gemstone out of it.

"Good. Now, put this thing in it."

"Umm…" Peach said, holding the stone reluctantly, "This won't cause some mind-control thing… Right?"

"…No…" Voib said, trailing off.

"Princess, I don't think it's safe to trust this-"

Peach inserted the glass shard into her tiara. It flashed and morphed into a red gemstone.

"OK, that's really coo-"

Peach suddenly stopped and turned towards Toadsworth, a glazed look in her eyes.

"Must… destroy…"

Toadsworth squealed and ran through a door that had just opened inside the room. Two yellow-cloaked figures that were exiting turned to see the Mushroom citizen leaving. They then turned towards Peach.

"Good one!" The left one said, and the right one gave a thumbs up.

"That was funny!" Peach said, and Prince Voib stifled a laugh.

"Honestly, I could've sworn that you were the host of Mischief or Silliness." Said the right cloaked figure

"Mischief? Silliness?" Peach asked.

The two cloaked figures bowed.

"Well… we're Mischiefs. But Silliness is at the aptly named Silly Sands right now, duking it out with his bro, Seriousness."

"…Really?"

"Really!" said both Mischiefs.

"Seriously, we should have some drinks after this." Said the left Mischief, "And not those fake-blood drinks. Those are just corny. I was thinking Mountain Boo, but my homie over here doesn't drink soda."

"I'll just get a water," said the right one.

"Cool, I'll join you guys for drinks later. Do you have strawberry lemonade?" Peach asked.

"Really?" the left Mischief said, raising an eyebrow, "I thought you would have gotten peach juice or something!"

"That's like asking Daisy if she has a daisy garden. It's just our names."

"…True," The right mischief said.

"Let us just get ready, and we'll show you the juice bar," said the left Mischief, "Let's go, Doug."

The two left.

"That was nice. I guess they all aren't bad guys."

"Whatever the case is," Voib said, "I am actually in contact with Mario, who is doing everything to save you, and possibly, the world… Again…"

"Aww… I feel so bad…" Peach said, "Can you tell him that I send hugs and kisses."

"Let's see. Silliness is at Silly Sands. That'll be our next stop. Toadsworth peed his pants when Peach pranked him. She sends her hugs and kisses: XOXO."

"It really works like that?" Peach asked.

"No," said Voib, "But it would be nice. Just warning you, every emotion hates me here, even Forgiveness. So, just don't mention my existence to anyone, except Toadsworth."

"You got it," Peach said…

"…"

"…"

"Want to play 20 questions?" Voib asked, "While waiting for Toadsworth?"

"Sure," said Peach.

"OK… go!"

"Is it a person?"

"No."

"Is it a place?"

"No."

"So it's a thing… Is the object alive?"

"No."

…...

 _ **Bowser Interlude**_

 _ **Postcard Shenanigans**_

It was a dark day in Bowser Castle. Bowser had suffered serious wounds for no apparent reason after attempting to get a colorful shell in Port Prisma. Kammy still hadn't returned from her 3 month vacation. Oh yeah… all the lights were out because of a power outage.

Right now, the King of Awesome, as he referred to himself, or, The King of Guys who Talk to Posters, as his minions called him, was sitting on a throne. Most of his wounds had healed, but he still had a massive headache, causing him to have to hold an ice pack to his head, and his other arm, his right one, in a sling.

Bowser was sitting in his throne, playing a game on the BES, (Bowser Entertainment System,) when he heard the sounds of doors opening.

"Your Woundedness!" called Kamek, his main advisor, as he shuffled into the room.

"Yeah? What?" Bowser replied, pausing his game of Bowser Kart, a game Kamek had purposely designed for him.

"Well, we've got a postcard from Kammy Koopa!"

"Great, how's that old slacker doing?" Bowser muttered, doing his best to cross his arms.

"Err… she's engaged."

"WHAT?!" Bowser roared, accidentally spewing fire all over Kamek, who held the flame-retardant postcard in front of himself, attempting to block the flames. It didn't work.

After stamping out the fire on his robe, Kamek held it up, "Here, you can read it."

"Kamek…"

"Don't tell me you can't read."

"Of course I can read, you old codger!"

"Of course you can, your Literateness…"

"It's just, oh, I don't know, THERE'S NO LIGHT IN MY CASTLE!"

"We're working on that right now, King Bowser!" A Goomba squeaked, wearing a headlamp.

"Let me see that!" Bowser roared, grabbing the headgear from the Goomba, who squeaked, staring at the darkness all around him.

"Darkness… So scary… Can't breathe… Creepy crawlies… everywhere…"

He began hyperventilating, and crouched onto the floor, shivering.

"Let's see. I found a nice Koopa, whose name is Koostodian. We met at a TALENT SHOW? HE'S A JANITOR? She hasn't come back because of some JANITOR!"

Bowser got up and began stamping his feet, "I CAN'T HAVE THIS KAMEK!"

Bowser threw the headlamp, and the Goomba squealed, running after it like he was getting chased by unimaginable horrors.

"Well, she has sent back all of her paychecks, your Angriness… So, she technically isn't doing any harm."

"I TOLD YOU I WON'T HAVE IT!" Bowser stamped his feet, "PREPARE MY KOOPA CLOWN CAR! We're going to see Kammy and stop this stupid marriage thing!"

"Of course, your Feistiness…"

"STOP SAYING WORDS LIKE THAT! Just call me the King of Awesome!"

"Of course, your Awesomeness."

"GAH!" Bowser stamped off, feeling his way out of the room.

Once he left, Kamek laughed, "Yes! I knew acting like Kammy would work! Soon, I won't be the one clipping his stupid claw toenails!"

"KAMEK! I WANT YOU TO CLIP MY CLAWS RIGHT NOW! I WANT TO LOOK MY BEST WHEN WE STOP THIS MARRIAGE!"

Kamek sighed, "COMING, YOUR CLEANLINESS!"

 _ **Mario Interlude**_

 _ **The Juice Bar**_

Mario, Perry and Goombud were all relaxing on a bench in Dove Town. Various citizens walked around, a few glaring at Goombud. Perry was juggling her two wings. Mario was joining her, tossing Prince Voib up and down.

"So… I'm Perseverance, Determination, whatever it is," Perry said, "Does that mean I'm going to make a castle and make people almost die from a lack of water?"

"Yes," Goombud said, "My castle is currently located in the darkest sewers, with many people chained to the wall and screaming about heartbreak."

The group shared a laugh.

"So, I'll take that as a no."

"Hey! Do you know how hard it is to chain people to a wall? First, you have to build up all the money to do that, legally or illegally. Then you have to go and envision the perfect castle, make sure it has perfect architectural support, and dig deep underground to make the perfect dungeon. Getting those things to hold the chains was a nightmare, having to hammer it in just right, and accidentally bring the entire castle down. After attaching those chains, you have to find a way to kidnap, convince, or other ways of getting the people in there, chaining them to the wall, and making sure they can't escape, except by some odd puzzle. Then-"

"Goombud, you're beating a dead horse," Perry interrupted him.

"I know…"

The group laughed again.

"You know, I'm a bit hungry," Mario said, "Goombud, do you know any good places to eat?"

"Hmm… let me look…" Goombud pulled out his notebook and began flipping through it.

"Well, there's The Juice Bar, run by Swee T. We could go there!"

"Well then, let us go."

….

The Juice Bar was about what you would expect.

Booths lined the walls, there was a door to the bathrooms, and a door to the kitchen, both on opposite ends, with a bare in the middle. On a rack in the bar were various drinks, with things like Fruit Parfait, and a mysterious drink Mario had never seen, called 1-Up.

A young Toad was scrubbing a glass for a figure in a robe, when the trio of heroes entered the bar and sat down on the stools next to the figure.

"Hi there!" She said cheerfully, "I'm Swee T! But some people call me Sweetie-pie! Do you mind if I finish this glass before serving you?"

"Not at all," Mario answered, and Swee T. continued washing it.

"…So, what brings you here?" said the cloaked figure in a husky voice.

"Just looking for a bite," Mario answered, "What's your name?"

"…I'm not introducing my name to a stranger."

"…Oh."

"But with you, you seem different than others here."

The figure pointed towards a table, where two golden-shelled Koopas drank some Angry Sun-Kissed.

"I hate those guys…" Goombud muttered.

"So do I," said the figure, "But this is a place for the tough, and the tough only. So listen, what are your names?"

"Mario."

"My name's Goombud!"

"They call me Perry."

"Hmm…" the figure said, "Then, seeing as you are so trusting… Call me Star."

The figure extended a black gloved hand, and Mario shook it.

"There you go!" Swee T. said, giving Star back their glass.

"Thanks," they replied.

"Now then, Mario, Goombud, and Perry. What can I get you guys?"

"I'll take a Fruit Parfait… if that's OK with you Mario," Goombud asked.

"I don't care. You're paying."

"Thanks! Wait… what?!"

"I'm just messing with you."

Swee T. chuckled, "You're so funny! Now then, Perry?"

"I'll take a Star Sprite."

"You got it, my little aerial ace!" Swee T. said, writing down on a notepad.

"And you, Mario?"

"HEY LADY!" A Golden Koopa from earlier yelled. Mario recognized it as Krook, "WE ORDERED OUR DRINKS? WHERE ARE THEY?"

Swee T. walked

"They're coming! They're has just been a little error in the kitchen!"

Rob grabbed Swee T.

"WELL! THERE'S A BIG ISSUE COMING YOUR WAY IF I DON'T GET MY DRINKS!" Krook yelled in her face. Swee T. screamed as Rob raised his fist.

"Put her down…" Star said.

"Oh yeah, or what?" Krook spat.

Star answered by extending their hand.

A whip shot out and grabbed Rob and Krook by the ankles and knocking them around, smacking them into walls, the ceiling and floor, conveniently missing any bystanders. Then, after being heavily bruised, the whip released them in the air, where they fell to the floor. The whip entangled Rob and Krook like a rope.

"If you don't mind, Swee T., I have to leave."

"It's-it's no problem Star…"

Star hovered in the air, and began slowly flying out, her whip still in hand and dragging Rob and Krook, who were currently unconscious. They stopped at the entrance, however.

"Something tells me we'll be seeing each other again, Maria."

"It… it's Mario."

"Really? I could have sworn that it was Maria. My mistake."

They flew out and shut the door behind them.

Prince Voib chose that time to hop out of Mario's pocket.

"Hey! I managed to make contact with Peach. I was given a message: 'Let's see. Silliness is at Silly Sands. That'll be our next stop. Toadsworth peed his pants when Peach pranked him. She sends her hugs and kisses: XOXO.' We also managed to play a killer game of 20 questions and make Toadsworth pee his diaper/pants thing!"

"Umm… great…" Mario said, "Let us just get our drinks…"

 **PaintBrushJr: Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm going to try and keep up the staple of having an interlude at the end of every chapter. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed all of the Soda/Mario puns. Stay creative, and I'm going to** **try** **to get the next chapter out today too. Emphasis on** **try** **.**


	10. Chapter 2 Pt 1 Fighting Fire

_**Chapter 2: A Balance**_

 _ **Part 1: Fighting Fire**_

"This is the gate to Silly Sands," said Goombud, as they stood at a small doorway in Dove Town's cobblestone wall.

Of course, things were never easy, as a guard stood in the way.

The guard was obviously a Bob-omb, and a Bulky Bob-omb at that. It was midnight black, instead of the usual pink or brown color schemes. He was wearing a helmet that was too small for him, and sat on top of his head. A fuse uncurled out of the area where the head would usually be.

This would be all fine and dandy if it weren't for the fact that the fuse was lit.

"GAH!" Mario said when he saw it and immediately jumped away from it.

"Hey buddy, that's not nice…" The guard said in a deep voice, "Come on, and give old Bobby a hug…"

"You-you-your fuse is lit!" Mario stammered.

Goombud and Perry laughed.

"It's okay Mario!" Goombud explained, "We have a species of Bob-ombs here that are able to control fire, without blowing-up."

"Yeah…" said Bobby, "Those guys are the coolest. I wish I was one of them…"

"…But… your fuse is lit…" Goombud stammered, shocked.

Bobby looked up at his fuse, "Huh… it is… Cool…"

It took Bobby a few seconds to realize the problem, "Wait…"

"AH! HELP! MY FUSE IS ON FIRE! I'M GOING TO DIE!"

Bobby began scurrying around, shouting, "HELP!" at the top of his lungs.

"I'VE GOT YOU!" yelled Perry and threw her wing. It circled around Bobby's fuse, and the air put out the fire.

"Whew…" Bobby said, "Well then, I guess I'm safe…"

A few citizens snickered.

"Right this way," said Bobby, and his fuse relit, as he bowed and waved it towards Silly Sands, "Enjoy their performance…"

"Your fuse is relit!" Goombud shouted.

Bobby looked up, "Huh… it is. It's a good thing I'm a Fire-Wielding Bob-omb, otherwise I could explode…"

Mario and Perry face-palmed.

"Guys, I need a bit of help," Goombud asked.

Perry slapped her hand to his forehead.

"Thanks."

….

The desert was hot… Extremely hot.

Sure, it sounds like stereotypical, but it was true.

But, despite being hot, sweaty, and probably in need of a shower, Mario felt like cartwheeling and doing a handstand.

It made absolutely no sense. Mario was wondering whether there were dune buggies in Silly Sands when he stepped on it. Now he wanted to run through the entire desert while making desert puns.

"Welcome to Silly Sands!" said Goombud, "It's a good thing we're not going to _desert_ each other here. I also managed to pack us some _sand_ wiches! Luckily, it's _cact_ us out here and not just _cact_ i. Anyways, this desert has a _funny_ effect on us, and makes us all quite silly. I think that whoever made this desert had a _goof_ -up. But it's okay. We should be able to snap out of it as long as we keep our minds straight. Maybe it'll g _rain_ … oh my Grambi, what is wrong with me?"

Perry randomly cartwheeled, straight into a layer of sand that appeared to have turned grey. She suddenly stopped and grew a look of pure determination on her face, "We have to go and get those two emotions!

"Aww c'mon, relax!" said Goombud, "Look!"

He stuck out his tongue. Mario burst out laughing, but Perry didn't look amused.

"This isn't the time to be idiots! This is the time to be serious!"

"Aw c'mon!" said Mario, and walked over to her. He suddenly got a serious expression on his face.

"We are being goofballs! Goombud, we need to stop messing around!"

"BUT C'MON!" Goombud rolled on the ground, "IT'S FUNNY!"

As he said that, a line of sand was snaking towards him.

"GOOMBUD! GET OUT OF THERE!" Perry yelled.

Goombud noticed the line, "JOKES ON HIM! He's a line!"

Goombud rolled out of the way, and the line stopped. Goombud was laughing, " _Jokes!_ Because we're in Silly Sands! Get it?"

A small pit opened up, and a figure made of sand and cloth popped up.

It wrapped an arm around Goombud and began to drag him in.

"WOAH! WOAH! WOAH! _Loosen_ up man! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Perry threw her wings at the figure, and it shrieked, before throwing Goombud into the grey area of sand. Goombud got up with a serious expression on his face.

"Guys… that's a Rut. Ruts are pretty much beings who like you being down-in-the-dumps, literally! Try not to walk into their little pit, because it's… the pits!"

The grey sand suddenly turned to yellow sand, and the group started feeling goofy again.

Perry did a back-flip and threw her wings at the Rut, who shrieked in agony and burrowed again.

A long line snaked away from the group.

"Oh my Grambi! That was totally rad, dudes and dudette!"

A black Bob-omb with orange shoes and a windup key shaped like the "Hang loose" hand symbol walked up. He also had on some sunglasses and a black and white trucker hat sideways on his head, with "The Bombardiers!" on the rim.

The Bob-omb did a head-spin on the ground, and fire burst from beneath him, forming into the same symbol as his wind-up key. He got up.

"Sorry dude. Every time I see some wicked fighting going on, I just have to do some wicked moves to add to the awesomeness!"

"…Umm… Who are you?" Mario asked, as the sand around his feet turned gray.

"They call me Boom-ski, but I also go by Bro-ski! I'm a backup dancer for the sickest band ever, 'The Bombardiers!'"

"'The Bombardiers?' I don't like their music…"

"It's not our choice, dudette!" said Boom-ski, "In fact, last performance, we actually did the song, 'Black Hole Grand Star,' by the Sound Petal Meadows!"

"…I actually like that song!" said Perry.

"Oh yeah, we did a sweet gig, and were asked to do an awesome twist on the music video for it. It was WICKED!"

Mario could swear that if the thing had a mouth, it would be sticking out his tongue and waggling it around.

"Oh, by the way dudes and dudette! I think you guys need these!"

Boom-ski tossed the trio necklaces. On them were the Yin and Yang symbols, but instead of white, there was yellow. The group put them on, and clutched their heads.

"Hey… I feel a lot less serious now!" Goombud cheered, "I feel like MYSELF! Yes!"

"You're welcome bro-skis!" said the backup dancer.

"Wait, are these Balance Necklaces?" Goombud asked.

"Sure are dude! We give them, free of charge. Especially as those sick monsters started showing up, we want to make sure people don't get to cuckoo in the head so they don't, you know, fall into their hands or fall into the ocean. It causes bad revenue!"

"What are Balance Necklaces?" Mario asked.

"Woah… this dude is totally a tourist, isn't he?" asked Boom-ski.

"Definitely…" Perry muttered.

"Well then, dude, let me give you the low-down. This desert, the one where your rad boots are, has some weird chemicals, or whatever, that mess with your head. The yellow sand makes you act like a total dork-a-tron, while the grey one makes you straight as a board. Of course, both can cause total bummers, so the Balance Necklaces use some rad magic, or other chemicals, or something, to make your mind be cool."

"Wow… That made no sense…"

"Sorry my bro-tastic language doesn't work with you. But it's OK dude. I cannot stop the flow dude. My words make everything sound wicked to me, and grammar doesn't mean anything to this bro-ski!"

"…Ok?" Mario asked.

"But dudes, because you're so chill, do you want to see our wicked dance-off today?"

"…Dance off?!" asked Perry.

"TODAY?!" squealed Goombud.

"Wicked..?" Mario asked, still not understanding the bro-tastic language.

"Yeah, dudes. Tonight? It is going to be super awesome man! Hey… seeing as you guys have some wicked skills, here!"

Boom-ski gave each of them another necklace, this time with a card saying: VID.

"Very Important Dude!" Boom-ski explained, "Just make it tonight, and you're going to have some wicked fun! Later dudes, and dudette!"

Boom-ski breakdanced into a fiery whirlwind… and was gone...

"Woah… sick magic trick," said Goombud, "Wait. I'm talking the bro-tastic language! Gah! Were my grammar lessons in vain?"

….

"So… the Balance Necklaces keep us… sane? Is that how you would say it?" Mario asked.

"It's easier to understand it as it balancing your goofy and stern aspects," Goombud explained, "It's based on Silliness's and Seriousness's eternal war against each other."

"Could you explain that more," asked Mario, "Because we'll most likely be encountering them someday here."

"I'll explain that!" Prince Voib shouted, completely shocking the group.

"Oh great, the orb returns," Perry grumbled.

"I TOLD YOU! CALL ME PRINCE, VOIB, OR PRINCE VOIB!"

Mario and Goombud snickered.

"Gah… anyway, the legend."

 _"A long time ago, when the emotions came into the world, Silliness and Seriousness were brought in together. While considered brothers, even twins, the two despised each other. Their personalities, and what they brought to the world, were polar opposites. So, when they met, they attempted to trap and suck all the life out of each other. Both, however, are always at an almost even end, but have never achieved true balance."_

"Wow…" Perry said, "That was needlessly dramatic…"

"I'm good at storytelling, so what?" countered Voib.

"Anyways, I guess that explains the sand here…" Goombud stated.

"Yes, it does," Prince Voib agreed, "Where Silliness and Seriousness fought, the land would spread with the power of both siblings. They almost always fought in a desert, so that explains this regions name. Although, calling it Silly Sands is just making the land beg to get attacked by Seriousness…"

"So," Goombud stated, "With Perry and Resret, they both countered each other. Resret represented The Negative emotion, Guilt, while Perry is the host of Perseverance, the counter of this. So, with Seriousness and Silliness, who's The Positive emotions, and who is The Negative Emotion?"

"Yes," Prince Voib replied.

"…That's not a satisfiable answer."

"It's a simple way of saying that they both are. It's like asking someone: Are they smart, or are they strong? If you say yes, you're saying that they are smart and strong. Anyways, Silliness and Seriousness are technically negative and positive. When in perfect balance, both are technically positive emotions, but when out of balance, become negative. Technically, the counter emotion is the balance of those two emotions."

"Interesting…" Goombud pondered, "What would you call that?"

"I don't believe there's a name for that," Perry answered.

"Serilliousness?" Prince Voib proposed.

"…No," The trio all said at once.

"Fine…"

….

As the group continued to trudge on, a voice cried in the distance, "HELP!"

"WE'RE COMING!" yelled Mario, and the group rushed over a dune to find three Bob-ombs getting attacked by four Ruts, and one peculiar looking… scooper?

The group sprang into battle.

….

"Believe it or not, that's not a pooper scooper," explained Goombud, "That's actually a crown. Behold, Narcissism, and believe it or not, there's a flower under there. It's odd, I know. Anyways, this thing treats itself as the king of the lower people. It's incredibly weak, but it's able to divert damage to its cohorts… And heal them. In other words, try to take out everyone else as fast as possible. If two of them are in a battle, well then, may Grambi have mercy on you."

Perry threw her wings, which inadvertently hit Narcissism. As if to demonstrate Goombud's point, it spread the damage to a nearby Rut.

Mario focused on jumping on the Rut, as Goombud charged into another one.

Perry proceeded to hit the two Ruts with her wings.

But, like Goombud said, the Narcissism healed them all.

The four Ruts all created sinkholes around the group.

"Great, now we can't run across them… Hmm… I got an idea, but it doesn't apply to this battle… Anyways, good luck guys..."

Perry launched two wings at the same Rut, hitting it four times. Mario did a Jump Smash on the same Rut, and it proceeded to die.

Narcissism summoned a crook, and grabbed Goombud and pulled him closer, before smacking him in the head with his crown.

Two Ruts mumbled, and a dome of sand covered one Rut.

Perry threw her wings, and hit both Ruts. Mario hit one with a Jump Smash, hitting one and the other one with a shockwave. Both died from this.

The Narcissism squeaked when he saw that the three Ruts were dead, ignoring the dome of sand.

Goombud gave a wicked smile, and charged from it from behind, pushing it into the sinkhole. It promptly sank.

….

"Thank you so much!" said a pink-and-black colored Bob-omb, its skin formed of colored squares. It had a pink ponytail, and its wind-up key was shaped like a microphone.

Two other Bob-ombs stumbled up. One had some brown hair, and the other had glasses. Both had light-blue skin.

"Umm… thanks…" stuttered the Bob-omb with glasses, "I've been looking at the mythology of this area… and honestly, that was shocking!"

"THAT WAS WICKED!" the other Bob-omb hopped up and down, and Mario noticed it had some freckles.

"It's thank to you that we're alive right now," said the pink-and-black Bob-omb, "I'm Pop."

"You're the lead singer of The Bombardiers, right?" Goombud asked.

Pop gave a wink, and applause erupted all around them.

"Umm… How'd that happen?" Perry asked, shocked.

"Little trick I like to do," Pop laughed, and pulled out a recorder.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Shouted the brown-haired Bob-omb, doing a loud and obvious fake laugh.

"You're embarrassing yourself dude…" Muttered the Bob-omb with glasses

"Shut up," The Bob-omb muttered back.

"He's right though," said Pop, and the brown-haired Bob-omb blushed.

"Oh…"

"Anyways, it's a good thing you guys were so far off the beaten path, otherwise… I don't know what would've happened!"

"Wait," Perry asked, "We're off the beaten path?"

"Well, you have VIP cards on your Balance Necklaces, and you were walking opposite of the stadium, so… yeah…"

"…There was a path?" Perry muttered, her eye twitching.

"…There wasn't a path, was there?" Pop asked.

The group nodded.

"When I see Boomer, he is going to be slapped so hard…"

She left it up to everyone's imagination.

"Well, luckily, I know the path to the stadium, so follow me. Let's go!"

They all left, not noticing that the dome fell into the sand, without a Rut to be seen.

….

The stadium was silent when the group of six walked up.

It was as simple as it could be on the outside, but the inside was quite the opposite.

Rows of seats hung a few feet above the ground, with only iron bars holding them up. A giant dance floor, complete with stage and jumbo-tron were on the ground.

There, two Bob-ombs were standing.

One had a Mohawk, similar to Perry's, but it was blue. He was green, and his key was shaped like a music note.

"That's Boomer," said Pop, her fuse pointing towards the other one.

Boomer didn't appear to be any different than a normal Bob-omb at first.

He was still black in color, and had the same shoes as a Bob-omb. However, his shoes and key were a brighter orange than normal, and his key seemed normal enough, but was more… fiery, than the normal one. His fuse was lit on fire, but it didn't appear to be getting any shorter.

Both of them stared at each-other, then Boomer shouted, "Let's go homie…"

Music began playing, until Pop hopped up, and yelled, "STOP!"

"POP! YOU'RE BACK!" said the green Bob-omb.

"Of course she's back!" said Boomer, "How you doing, girl?"

Pop walked up, and slapped him with her fuse. He fell onto the floor.

"Guess how I'm doing, Boomer, when I find two lost fans, and begin walking them to the stadium, when they're attacked by monsters. If it weren't for three travelers, umm, I don't know. Oh right, WE'D BE DEAD!"

"…Dead?" Boomer got up.

"DEAD!" shouted Pop, "Oh yeah, and we wouldn't be at risk of DEATH, if, oh, I don't know, YOU REMEMBERED TO GET THAT PATH MADE!"

"THE PATH ISN'T MADE?" shouted Boomer.

He pulled out a cell phone, dialed a number, and held it up.

"Hey, is this the Brock office? Yeah… OK, may I speak to your manager? Oh, you are the manager, OK… WHAT IN THE WORLD IS TAKING YOU SO LONG TO MAKE THAT PATH? I ordered it, OH, I don't know, FIVE MONTHS AGO? YOU HAVE BEEN CHARGING ME MONTHLY FOR THIS SUPPOSED PATH, THAT I JUST LEARNED DOESN'T EXIST! No, don't tell me that you're going to do it. I PAYED YOU FIVE MONTHS WORTH OF PAYMENT, PLUS, THE MONEY TO GET IT MADE! I EXPECT A FULL REFUND IN A MONTH'S TIME, AND IF NOT, I'M SENDING A LAWSUIT FOR DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT, GOT IT?"

He clicked off the phone.

"Sorry, I had a bit of a moment…" Boomer chuckled.

"Five months' worth of payment?" Pop asked, "AND YOU DIDN'T NOTICE THAT THERE WASN'T ONE?"

"I didn't, baby… I've been living here or using the back entrance to explore the desert."

"I told you that you should have checked it," said the green Bob-omb.

"And you were right, now shut up B."

B glared at Boomer, before jumping onto the stage, and walking backstage.

Boomer hopped down, "Ah, VIP passes… Well then, you might want to wait a bit. The show's actually going to start the soon. There's a line of fans at the back of the coliseum. Show them this, and you can get to the front of the line."

Boomer gave them a card. On it was Boomer's signature, and the words, "Boomer's Official Pass of Cutting in Front of the Line at Shows of His, Located in Silly Sands." It was a big card.

"Now then, I'll be keeping an eye on you…" He said, beamed, and walked away.

"…That wasn't suspicious at all…"

The group walked out of the back entrance of the stadium.

…...

"YO-YO-YO!" Boomer yelled into a microphone, and the crowd went wild.

The trio of heroes were able to get first dibs on seats, and got the closest seats they could.

A sweaty Fat Guy stood on the right, an odd being on the left. She looked like a sausage had grown limbs, with holes for eyes and a mouth. Her arms didn't appear to have fingers, and how she stood on her toeless feet were a mystery. She had a long wave of hair on the back of her head, braided with cornrows, and her dress was blue, with a yellow trim, and was diagonal, from her right to left, going downward.

"That's a Hooski…" Goombud said, "They're a race of mountain people. Easily confusable as Hoohooligans…"

"Ah, so you have heard of my people, small one?" She asked, and gave him a noogie.

"Well yeah," said Goombud, "I live here. Well, in Dove Town, but on the island, nonetheless."

She gave a hearty laugh, "Ah, that makes more sense. I thought you were tourists, because of the, ah, fat one you have."

"I'm not fat!" Mario shouted, causing Goombud, Perry, and the Hooski to laugh.

"Dah, you might be. But, whatever the case is, you seem like a tourist."

"That's because he is," snickered Perry.

"Ah, OK then. My name is Hooskina, and it's nice to meet you. Well, more a miracle actually. My father is very stubborn about my future."

"Why?" asked Goombud.

"Well, it might be because-"

"YO!" yelled Boomer, "CEASE THE TALKING! IT'S… DANCE BATTLE TIME! ALL OF THOSE WITH VIP PASSES, COME TO THE DANCE FLOOR!"

Boomer's eyes glimmered, "OR SHOULD I CALL IT, THE ARENA?"

 **PaintBrushJr: Sorry for the super long update guys. Got busy… and lazy. Again, I'm trying to keep a consistent schedule, so again, try to suspect daily updates. Sorry, and stay creative.**


	11. Chapter 2 Pt 2 With Fire

_**Chapter 2: A Balance**_

 _ **Part 2: With Fire**_

"Umm… what?" Goombud shockingly said.

"YOU HEARD ME! DANCE FLOOR!" Boomer, well, boomed. The crowd went wild as a small group scooted down the stadium, and hopped onto the dance floor. However, one particular Paratroopa was clearly resisting.

"Excuse me, I am not going down there!" Perry said.

"OY! You get down dere dis instant!" yelled an odd looking shell creature, wearing a top hat and twirling a reed cigar.

"Yeah!" blubbered a teenage Toad, wearing a T-shirt, displaying the dance group's logo. She tugged on her bright pink pigtails, attached to a black mushroom with violet spots.

"DO IT! DO IT!" chanted the crowd.

Perry simply stood there with her arms crossed.

"Nope," she responded.

"Why not? You clearly like this music," the fan Toad remarked, "I mean, just look at your hair! Those bands around your arm are also clearly to support this genre.

"Wait… You think I like their music because of my LOOKS?"

Perry marched over to the teenager and poked her in the chest.

"What if I was wearing an afro? Would I suddenly like disco?"

"Well duh, why else would you wear it?"

"I can't deal with this stupidity," groaned Perry, and she began marching towards the exit. However, the shell creature got in front of her.

"Oh, ya ain't goin' anywhere, sweetie."

"Oh yeah?" Perry smirked, "How are you going to stop me?"  
"Tsun. You know what ta do."

Suddenly Perry was lifted up in the air, and she turned to see a muscular shell creature lifting her up, wearing a small sailor hat, having an anchor tattoo, and a reed cigar.

"Hi there," he winked, and threw Perry down onto the dance floor."

Mario and Hooskina helped her up, as Goombud fed her a Mushroom.

"You don't want to mess with the Noki Sailors…" Goombud explained.

"Those were… the Noki Sailors?" groaned Perry.

"Yep," answered Goombud, "It seems as though Tsun threw you pretty hard. You're lucky Nami didn't come."

"Who are the Noki Sailors?" Mario asked.

"The Noki Sailors are, well, Nokis. Have you ever heard of them?"

"The first time I've heard of a Noki is just now."

Hooskina laughed heartily, "This boy doesn't get around much. The Noki are a bunch of water, shell wearing people. They apparently are evolved versions of Hermit Sidesteppers, or some other species that I don't care about at all. However, those bad boys over there have done things, seen things, and destroyed many things that I wish to do. They're like idols to some people, and something to be feared by others."

She punched Mario's shoulder in a friendly way, except it felt like getting hit by a stone pillar. Mario crashed to the ground.

"You can guess how I view them," she laughed.

Mario moaned something inaudible, as Perry weakly helped him up, and Mario was fed a Mushroom.

"OY!" shouted Boomer, "ARE YOU DONE GIVING EXPOSITION TO BE USED LATER, OR ARE WE GOING TO GET A MOVE ON?"

"We're getting a move-on," replied Mario.

"Good!" said Boomer, "Because you're fighting us first. I want you, your little buddies, and that girl you've been chatting with to come up here, and dance with us!"

A hushed silence fell over the stadium, as if dancing wasn't a way of moving while music was playing, but an act of torture.

"Umm… Can we have a different option?" plead Perry.

"I don't know? What does our audience think?" Boomer asked, staring at the group.

"Well Crest?" asked the Noki named Tsun.

Crest snapped his fingers. Tsun smiled wickedly and cracked his knuckles. The crowd then erupted into cheering, and began chanting.

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"

"Well, you heard them!" Boomer shouted happily.

B, Pop, and Boom-ski all hopped on the stage. They had a concentrated expression on their face. Then suddenly, their fuses lit simultaneously.

B and Boom-ski all threw Pop up into the air, where she began spinning. The fire from her fuse created small pops in the desert air, before she rolled onto the ground. Boomer then leaped over to her, grabbed her with his fuse, and the two began spinning. The fire around them began getting hotter and hotter, until they were a giant tornado. Slowly, the fire dissipated, and the crowd gasped to see two piles of ashes on the ground.

A few people screamed. They began running towards the exits, when one excited Toad girl pointed at the sky.

"LOOK!" she cried.

A small shadow hovered under the sun, and slowly was coming down.

Boomer and Pop landed on the ground, right in front of the group.

"Let's dance…" Boomer spoke, and the fight began.

….

"Umm… I'm not good at dancing…" blushed Goombud.

"That's why it's a dance battle dude!" winked Boomer.

"Wait… we're actually battling?" Hooskina said, a bit shocked.

"Well girl, we've got to trying something new, right?"

"Did you just call her girl?" Pop glared at Boomer.

"Umm… y-yeah, b-b-baby doll… W-why y-you ask..?" Boomer stammered.

"You called me girl... Because you love me… Now you're using for that… that stupid ice girl?"

"Actually… it's a mountain…" muttered Hooskina.

"Be quiet…" warned Boom-ski.

"She'll kill you!" warned B.

"YOU TWO! SHUT UP! And as for you, "mountain" girl… Don't you even THINK about going near my man!" Pop yelled.

"OOOOOH!" cried the audience.

"Umm… it's just slang, girl… Don't worry ab-"

"It's just slang? IT'S JUST SLANG? It was something special to me, and you casually give it to people like that!"

She pointed her fuse at Hooskina, who was starting to get mad.

"I'm right here…"

"DID I TELL YOU TO TALK?"

Hooskina began spinning her arms around in circles, as Pop continued to nag Boomer.

"THAT SLANG WAS IMPORTANT TO ME! IT WAS MY PET NAME! BUT CLEARLY JUST WANT TO MOVE ON! HUH? IS IT BECAUSE I'M NOT PRETTY ENOUGH FOR YOU? ANSWER M-"

Hooskina rushed forward, and punched Pop off the stage.

"She was getting on my nerves…" she huffed, "Now then, tourist, and his friends, let us go and end this…"

 _ **[Hooskina decided to temporarily join your party for this dance-off. In battle, she can punch enemies for major damage, or wind-up to increase defense or attack!]**_

 __Goombud began to tattle everyone.

"That's Boomer, the head honcho and dancer of "The Bombardiers." He's pretty much the main guy you want to attack, but have to defeat everyone else. Because game logic, or whatever. He has high attack, so you probably won't want to get hit at all…"

Pop slowly crawled on stage.

"Oh, you're so going to get it…"

"That's Pop, the lead singer of "The Bombardiers." She uses the power of kick-butt moves and awe-inspiring songs to boost the team's performance, and make them stay in the fight longer. While this sounds like something you want to get rid of immediately, she's going to just take a break, and come back all fine and dandy, using her stunt double to entertain everyone. The backup dancers need to help on this though, so once you take them out, you'll be good to go."

"That's Boom-ski and B, the two backup dancers. Both our mostly the same, in terms of their willpower and how they operate. In fact, the only reason they're staying right now is just because they think the other wants to, and they don't want to seem like a total L-O-S-E-R to their bro. Blah… slang… Anyways, they're the backup dancers, providing support for many of the moves for the two leads, that being Boomer and Pop. Take one of them out, and both will leave the stage to cause the performance to go downhill, making this a thing I'm disappointed that I had to pay nothing for…"

"Wow… my mouth feels really dry…"

Goombud pulled out a water bottle and took a sip.

"That's better…"

"Anyways, this is a dance battle, so you kind of want to be stylish, and stuff like that. Think you can pull that off, otherwise we're going to be hit by rocks… Or worse… the cliché tomato…."

"Got it!" Mario pulled out his hammer, readied it, and smacked B, before doing two backflips to his original spot.

Perry did a wave with her arms, the ends tossing up wings. She grabbed them both, and tossed them, hitting everyone twice, before back-flipping and catching them both.

"Dang… she has moves…" muttered Boom-ski…

"Dude… yeah…" replied B.

"UGH! SHE RUINED MY MAKEUP!" seethed Pop, "HOLD ON! MAKEUP!"

She, Boom-ski, and B, all walked backstage. Boom-ski and Bob returned with a freckly Bob-omb with too much makeup.

"Oh… I'm so nervous…" she squealed.

Hooskina began to swing her arms up and down rapidly, running up to B, and then quickly punched him.

"OUCHIE-WA-WA!" he squealed as Hooskina snapped her fingers and hopped back to her spot.

Goombud charged straight into B, and wobbled back, before doing a cute wink.

"BOO!" cried the audience, and rocks were thrown, hitting all of Mario's party.

"Ouch! Ow! Ugh! I'm sorry Mario, but I don't think people like me that much. I'm going to improve your chances of winning… by leaving…"

He quickly ran off.

"Goombud! It was adorable!" cried Perry.

"Yeah! Not bad for a runt!" shouted Hooskina.

As soon as Goombud had gotten off the stage, people cheered and threw mushrooms, healing Mario's group.

"Thank goodness, the twerp's gone…"

The group turned around to see that Pop's stunt double had been replaced by Pop herself.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" Perry said in a sweet voice, which was painfully fake.

"I said that the twerp's gone! Do you need your hearing checked?"

"Maybe I do…" said Perry, "Because I swear that you just made such a rude comment to a living being that did nothing wrong."

"Ugh, he was doing something wrong! That little criminal was ruining our ratings," Pop scoffed.

Mario clenched his fists, "Criminal?!"

"Well yeah. He obviously stole a notebook with priceless drawings in it. Didn't you see it in his… hand… things?"

"He doesn't have hands…" Boomer whispered to her.

"Shut up!" Pop sneered back at him.

"Anyways, some little tourist, who everyone loves for no reason at all, somehow managed to free the criminal, and blamed it on two innocent Koopas… Would you happen to know anything about that, Mario?" she spat the word back at him.

"You were acting so nice to us earlier…" muttered Perry.

"Well, yeah, duh. You had done me a huge solid, so I had to be nice to you. But, anyways, I also didn't want you to get a refund on those tickets…"

"Umm," squeaked Boom-ski, "I gave them that because of their rad performance at defeating monsters…"

"Shut up," Pop blew a bubble. She was apparently chewing bubble-gum.

"Girl, that's cold…" said Boomer.

"You shut-up as well. But anyways, let's get this show on the road. I want to collect my paycheck…"

Perry pointed at Pop, then cracked her knuckles, "You and I are enemies now."

"So what. You're just some Paratroopa. I can tell you're still training, because those wings still have training feathers on them. Weren't you supposed to graduate 5 years ago?"

"That's it…" said Hooskina, "I want to clobber her…"

Mario jumped in the air and stomped on B, before landing on the ground spinning.

"Want to see something star-worthy?" smirked Perry.

Using the power of Perseverance, Perry grabbed her wings, and zipped through the band, dealing a nice cut of damage to them all.

"UGH! Don't touch me, you loser! Bring out my stunt-double!"

"Um, sorry, but I don't think I want to do this anymore…" said B.

He slowly walked backwards, then ran off.

"Umm, I should follow him…" said Boom-ski, and he ran off too.

"Get back here!" Pop called after them.

They ignored her.

"Ugh, great. Time to actually battle then…" she groaned.

Boomer appeared reluctant to say anything.

Pop began singing into a microphone, healing both her and Boomer. The crowd went nuts, throwing mushrooms. One Crazy Dayzee jumped down, wearing "The Bombardiers" shirt, and carrying countless accessories, and rushed over.

"YOU CAN'T BEAT THE GREAT BOOMER AND POP!" she squealed, and tackled Mario, beginning to beat him up.

Boomer and Hooskina both pulled her off, and two normal Bob-ombs carted her away, her still squealing and attempting to hit Mario.

"I LOVE YOU BOOMER!"

The five all stared at each other in awkward silence once the fangirl had been carted off.

"Umm… we should continue to fight… Right?" Boomer asked.

"Umm… yeah…" replied Perry, and the group went back to their battle stances.

Boomer began sliding backwards, doing the moonwalk, then quickly turned over and hit Mario with his fuse. Mario immediately caught fire.

"OUCH! HOT! HOT! I'M BURNING! HELP!"

Perry quickly retrieved him a Mushroom to heal all of his wounds, as Hooskina slammed her fist into Pop.

Pop sneered at her and jumped up in the air, fireworks popping up around her, as she slowly angled herself, and slammed into Hooskina, causing additional damage to group.

Boomer did a headstand, and began to spin. A firestorm erupted around him, and quickly hit the group, setting them all on fire.

Pop took this time to sing a song, until her voice cracked.

The crowd booed, and a few began to cheer for Mario.

The fire stopped, and the group was ready.

Perry threw her wings at Perry, followed by Mario doing a Jump Smash, and ending with Hooskina slamming her with her fist.

"Ugh! You guys are… erg… totally not cool… I'm out of this hot mess…"

She kissed Boomer on the cheek.

"Good luck!"

Most of the crowd cheered for Boomer after this scene, and he groaned.

"Let's get a move on…"

Boomer attempted to create another firestorm, but Perry blew it away with her wings.

Mario threw his hammer in the air, grabbed it, before slamming onto Boomer, and proceeded to do a backflip.

Hooskina began winding her fist.

Perry put on her wings, before winking at the audience.

Boomer began moonwalking, but Perry lifted the group up into the air, and they both responded with a counterattack.

Then Hooskina delivered the final blow, knocking Boomer to the ground.

The audience stopped cheering.

It was deadly silent.

Then a small clapping was heard. It began to spread, and soon the whole stadium was cheering…

….

Boomer got up and waved at the crowd.

"CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIRST WINNERS! THE GROUP OF PEOPLE! GIVE CHEERS FOR MARIO!"

"YAAAAAAY!" the crowd cheered.

"PERRY!"

"WOOOOOH!" the crowd cried.

"HOOSKINA!"

"YEEEEEEES!" the crowd clapped.

"AND GOOMBUD!"

The crowd booed. Goombud peeked his head out of a stadium hall, only to be pelted stones at.

"HEY!" Boomer yelled, "I WILL NOT HAVE ANYBODY BE TREATED WRONGLY AT MY STADIUM!"

He ran over to Goombud, and carefully tugged him out of hiding.

The crowd booed, but made no attempt to throw stones, in case they hit their favorite star.

Boomer slowly guided Goombud to the group.

"Thanks…" Goombud muttered.

"No problem, my little buddy," Boomer replied, and gave Goombud a little noogie with his fuse.

"Now then, these people are being brought backstage, then the next dance-off will begin. If I see any funny business, expect to be thrown out, without a refund!"

He led the group up the stage, and then through a side door.

….

The backstage had a black carpet, with bright red walls, and a black ceiling, feeling very creepy. The group walked through a small hallway, turned right, and saw a few makeup stands. Pop was carefully doing her eyelashes, with Boom-ski and B helping her.

"Congratulations, or whatever…" she said, as soon as she saw the heroes, "It takes a decent level of skill to beat us. Unless, of course, I let you win."

"She's just in a mood," apologized Boomer, "She hasn't taken her medicine. She's normally quite cheerful…"

It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than the group.

"But seriously, congratulations. I loved the way how you integrated your dance moves into your attacks. Spectacular!"

"You really thought so?" asked Perry.

"Oh yeah girl!" winked Boomer, "You were on fire! Doing that cool wavy thing, it was the bomb!"

A rim-shot echoed through the building, and a small piece of the wall unfurled to reveal a pink Bob-omb at a sound-testing booth.

"I couldn't resist!" he said, and the wall covered it up again.

"That's my bro, the sound guy."

"Thanks dude!" the sound guy muffled through the covering.

"No problem dude!"

Boomer escorted the group down a few more paths, past a door labeled "EXIT," and into a small bedroom, with eight beds.

"Are you tired dudes, because if so, you could sleep here and catch some Zs."

"That'd actually be nice. Thank you!" said Mario.

"Aw, no problem dude!" said Boomer, and he walked off.

"Actually, would it be OK if I left?" asked Hooskina.

"Certainly dudette!" said Boomer, "Exit is that-a-way!"

"Thank you," said Hooskina, "I want to arm-wrestle that Noki Sailor. It'll be a good test of my strength!"

She turned towards the group, "Thank you for allowing me to fight with you. It was a great honor."

"Heh-heh… No sweat it…" Mario chuckled.

"Ah, you still don't understand my culture. That is to be expected," she said, and punched Mario on the shoulder. He fell to the ground.

"You still have such weak legs. You should work on that," she chuckled, and everyone but Mario laughed.

"Be good!" she said to Perry, giving her a fist-bump.

"And you," she kneeled next to Goombud, "You stay adorable."

"Aww shucks…" said Goombud, as Hooskina did a high-five (Or was it a high one?) with Goombud's foot.

"So long," she said, and Boomer began walking her to the exit.

"Well, we had a long day," said Perry, "So, nighty-night."

She got into bed, and almost immediately fell asleep.

Goombud and Mario both got in theirs.

"Night," said Goombud.

"Night," replied Mario.

Mario turned off the lights.

….

"Shhh…. He's still sleeping…"

Mario slowly woke up to hear giggles, but still had his eyes shut.

"Look at his hammer… Think I can sell it on K-Bay?"

Wait, sell his hammer?

"I got the scissors," squealed a voice, and he slowly felt something cold on his lip. He opened his eyes to find three girl Toads. One was holding his hammer. Another held a spare pair of overalls. The third was prepared to cut off his mustache with a pair of scissors.

"EEK! HE'S AWAKE!" they also squealed, and began giggling.

Mario quickly jerked his head to the side to avoid getting his mustache snipped off.

"OH MY GOSH! HE'S FAST!" squealed the Scissors Toad.

"What are you doing?" Mario stammered.

"EEK! HE'S SO CUTE WHEN HE'S FLUSTERED!" squealed the Hammer Toad.

"Are you… fangirls?" Mario choked out the last words.

"YES!" They all cried, and brought out permanent markers.

"SIGN MY SHIRT!"

"SIGN YOUR HAMMER AND GIVE IT TO ME!"

"SIGN EVERY PART OF MY BODY!"

"Gah!" Mario said, and quickly grabbed his hammer from the Hammer Fangirl.

"YES! HE'S GOING TO SIGN IT!" squealed the Toad.

"That's obviously because he's taking pity on how ugly you look!" squealed the Spare Overall fangirl.

"EXCUSE ME?" replied the Hammer Fangirl.

"Well, I mean, Beth is saying that you're the ugliest, so he's signing yours first, then signing my body last, obviously because I'm the prettiest!" said the

"You're the prettiest?" shouted Beth, "GIRL, HE HASN'T SEEN YOU EVERY MORNING, LIKE I HAVE!"

"UGH, MIRANDA, YOU ARE SUCH AN ATTENTION HOG," said the Spare Overalls fangirl.

"LIKE YOU AREN'T?" said Miranda, "SUE, YOU WANTED HIM TO SIGN YOUR SHIRT, LIKE SOME LOW-LIFE FAN. ONLY THE HIGH-CLASS FANS GET THEIR BODY SIGNED IN PERMANENT MARKER, AND THEN NEVER TAKE A SHOWER, SO THEY CAN NEVER WASH IT OFF!"

The three girls began to fight, allowing Mario to quickly get his overalls, and sneak out, as the three began to throw rude comments at each other.

As soon as Mario left the room, he began rushing for the exit, and ran straight into Perry.

"MARIO! Ugh, you will not believe what just happened! One creepy dude tried to cut all of my hair, and he was holding feathers from my wings. He was so creepy!"

"Yeah, I got a similar treatment, but we need to find the exit," Mario cried.

"We can't right now! I still haven't found Goombud!"

"Wait… why would he be in danger? Didn't the crowd hate him?"

"Exactly!" cried Perry, "If those fans got in, who knows what the haters could do? They could throw stones, they could beat him up… they could even…"

She clutched her mouth in terror, "Create a petition to prevent him from ever existing again, and replacing him with the true Goomba they all want, one sticking to the attack of head-bonking…"

"We can't let that happen!" stammered Mario, and the two ran off.

As they ran, various fanboys and fangirls attempted to chase them. Some were sane, and just wanted autographs or pictures. Others were a bit… off, and wanted their bodies to be signed, or for you to add them on social media, like Tweeter, and say that you were their lifelong friend. Some were a bit… crazy, attempting to get pieces of Mario and Perry's hair, and one Toad in a wedding dress proposed to Perry, using a real diamond ring.

Perry promptly slapped the Toad, and they ran past.

They entered the hallway leading to the makeup room, where the small covering that revealed the sound booth was open.

Various fanboys and fangirls hopped around, and the sound guy slammed against the glass.

"SAVE YOURSELVES!" he screamed, and he was slowly dragged downwards as fans giggled.

"I got his headset!" one squealed, "Oh, I'm going to make such good money on Amazy-Dayzee-on!"

"It's actually-"

"I DON'T CARE!" squealed the fangirl.

"But, you don't do that! You have to get it signed first and then keep it forever, hanging it up on your shrine to the sound guy, forever praying to it every night…"

"…You're creepy girl, so long."

The fangirl ran off, a small surplus of fans chasing her.

Then suddenly, a fanboy stared at the glass divider.

"IT'S MARIO AND PERRY!" he squealed.

Many fans slammed against the glass, their faces smooshed.

"REALLY?!" they all cried, and began pushing hard on the glass.

"Run," Perry simply said.

The glass shattered, and the group ran as a tidal wave of fans rushed against them.

Turning a corner, they found Goombud surrounded by a small mob. They were holding stones, shards of glass, and Goombud propaganda signs. One fanboy was holding a clipboard and pen.

"SIGN THE ANTI-GOOMBUD PETITION! REPLACE HIM WITH THE HEAD-BONKING GOOMBA WE ALL WANT!"

"YEAH!" cheered the crowd, as they began rapidly signing the petition.

"Help me!" said Goombud.

Just as the crowd threw their stones, a Bob-omb stepped in front of him, taking the hits.

"You OK bro?" B asked Goombud.

"I'm fine, are you OK?" Goombud replied.

"Barely…" B groaned.

Boom-ski was in the crowd, attempting to knock down fans, stealing their weapons, and spreading propaganda to support Goombud.

Mario and Perry immediately began to help, smacking away fans with their hammer and wings, respectively.

Once the fans were properly subdued, B and Boom-ski tied them all up.

"Thanks guys…" said Goombud.

"Don't sweat it, little homie," said B.

"We got your back, dude," said Boom-ski.

A few fans growled when the Bob-ombs attempted to pick them up, but they were smacked with a newspaper, and decided to stop.

"Quickly! To the exit!" Mario cried, and the group rushed towards it, smacking away fans and markers.

They turned towards the exit door to find Pop casually leaning against it, blowing a bubble.

"Well," she said, after she popped it, "Sleep well?"

"W-what?!" said Perry, "Why are you not getting mauled by fans? How are you still in one piece?"  
Pop laughed, "I followed their requests, and let them in. Duh."

"Pop! That breaks Rule 12!" shouted Boom-ski, "No fans released into the backstage, especially if participants are sleeping here!"

"Oops…" she said sadly.

"JUST OPEN THE DOOR!" cried B.

Pop opened the door, and Boom-ski and B quickly got through.

Goombud was promptly smacked with the door closing before he could get any further.

"Hey, what gives?" he squeaked, "That hurt my noise!"

"Oh no, no, no…" Pop laughed, "You embarrass me in front of MY audience, you don't leave here without a few scratches."

The sound of running footsteps echoed, and they were closing in.

"Please! We'll do anything!" shouted Perry.

"Fine. Say this. 'Pop is a total Pop Star, even with a janky fake eyelash and no makeup!' Say it!"

"That's easy," said Perry, "Pop it a total Pop Star, even with a janky fake eyelash and no makeup."

"Hah, honestly, who would say that though?" said Pop, "That's just ridiculous, as if I'd do something important for you if you said that."

"But! You said-"

"Read. My. Lips. Honey," stressed Pop.

"You don't have lips…" replied Mario.

"… HEY! WE'RE NOT DEBATING ABOUT ANATOMY HONEY! Enjoy your fan treatment!"

The footsteps closed in, and a huge mob of fans surrounded the group, besides Pop.

"SIGN MY PICTURE OF YOU!"

"FOLLOW ME!"

"CALL ME YOUR BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

The fans closed in.

"This is it guys…" said Goombud.

Suddenly, a bright flame shot down from the ceiling, and landed in the center of the group, and shot out flames, surrounding the group with a fiery wall.

"Aww, this stinks!" said a fanboy.

"Yeah, let's go and read about Zip Toad…" said a fangirl.

"WAIT! NO! COME BACK!" shouted Pop.

The firewall receded, and Pop was standing at an open exit, looking shocked.

"They…. Just… Left…. Without giving me my five bucks…"

"Pop!" shouted the flame.

The fire dissipated to reveal a very angry Boomer.

"WHAT IS RULE 12?!"

"B-but…"

"POP! I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU!" shouted Boomer, "YOU HAVE BEEN TREATING THE BAND AND FANS WITH THE UTMOST DISRESPECT! I HAVE BEEN MAKING EXCUSE AFTER EXCUSE FOR YOU, BUT THIS IS IT!"

"Boomer… You're my honey-poo."

"NO, I'M NOT! YOU CLEARLY DO NOT LOVE ME!" he shouted, "I AM JUST YOUR CONNECTION TO FAME, AND YOU TREAT ME HORRIBLY! BUT THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW!"

"…Fine, whatever. I'm still the lead singer, but if we can't be boyfriend and girlfriend, that's fine. The press will eat up how horrible you treated me, and ultimately dumped me."

"How about they eat up something else…" seethed Boomer, "You're fired…"

"F-fired?!" Pop shouted, "FIRED?! I'll have you know that I am the reason this group is so famous! There is no better singer than I am! NO ONE!"

Boomer glanced behind him. The small stunt double walked in, holding a wet facecloth. She dried off all of the makeup, making her look like Pop, and was revealed to be a freckly blue Bob-omb, with a brown ponytail.

"My name is Stephanie, and I am replacing you…" she said softly.

"You're replacing me… with this… with this DUD?!" shouted Pop.

"Oh yeah, and as for the press eating up how horribly I've treated you, I want you to look up."

Pop looked at the ceiling, to see video cameras. A small red dot was blinking.

"You… you… I'LL KILL YOU!"

She leaped at Boomer, but Stephanie smacked her with a microphone stand. Pop crumpled to the ground.

She slowly got up, "This isn't the last you'll see of me…" she seethed, and stared at Mario, Perry, Goombud, and Boomer."

"I will have my revenge…"

She slowly marched out.

Boomer sighed, "Where did I go wrong?"

He turned around, and stared at the small group.

"Now then, Prince Voib filled me in on everything."

"W-wait… You know Voib?"

Boomer revealed a small orb from behind him.

"Hey guys!" he said.

Mario checked his overall pockets, "No way…"

"Yep, he snuck out while you were sleeping and rolled over to me. It's kind of shocking, I know."

Stephanie giggled, "It's still a bit surprising. Boomer and I were just talking, and a giant 'HEY!' shouted at us. There was just this little orb bouncing around!"

"Anyways," said Boomer, stifling a laugh, "He said you guys were looking to defeat Silliness and Seriousness. Luckily for you, I think I know where they are."

"You do?" shouted Goombud.

"Well, it's an idea. There's a temple embedded in some mountains, connecting us to Firm Fields. I believe the sands making people goofballs, or straight as a stick, came from there."

"Well, that's great!" said Perry, "Thank you so much! Just point us there and we'll be on our-"

"Wait! I'm not finished yet!" interrupted Boomer, "Two more things. There's a guardian of ours, who we call Sphankh. He's supposedly the guardian of Life. Only he is able to open the temples. Unfortunately for us, he's far… and hasn't responded since the epidemic."

"What?" asked Mario.

"You see," said Boomer, "People would typically pray to Sphankh in order to get their life straight. That's how these necklaces were made actually."

Boomer tugged at his Balance Necklace.

"But when people were going loony, many people prayed to him, but he didn't answer. Then the monsters came… So, we're going to have to find some way to wake him up."

"You said there were two things," questioned Perry, "What's the other?"

"I'm joining you guys!" Boomer said excitedly.

"WHAT?" said Goombud.

"Yep!" Boomer cheered, "Now c'mon. Let's get a move-on."

 _ **[Boomer joined your party, to do your super rad adventure with you! Boomer's abilities: The Pyrotechnic! Boomer is part of a species of Bob-ombs that can use fire to their advantage. Using his fire, you can light up rooms, do an automatic first strike when he's hit, and even cure some sand tainted by Silliness and Sternness! In battle, Boomer has a chance to set enemies on fire with a dance move known as the sun-walk, or even do a spin on his head to burn all enemies!]**_

 __"Now then, dudes, are we getting a move-on or what?" he said, "Stephanie, here you go."

He handed Stephanie a card that read, "Boomer's Pass to Allow You to Run the Place While he is Off Partying or Adventuring or Whatever." It was a big card.

"I-uh… thank you sir!" Stephanie cried.

"Call me Boomer, girl. Now let's get a move on!"

 **PaintBrushJr: Again, I really apologize for how long it took me to release this next chapter. I'm trying to keep a good schedule, but I had a case of Writer's Block, in the case of: How do I make this chapter not boring?**

 **Anyways, I have a few funny notes to go over, but if you don't care about that, just ignore it.**

 **First of all, I looked up Goombud for fun, and my story was the first thing that popped up! Yay! However, I found a deviant-art user by the name of Brokenshell44. Apparently, they had also come up with a Goombud, and it was actually shocking. His Goombud actually had a very similar story to mine, where Goombud was homeless, and a victim of corrupt police. You guys should check it out.**

 **Also, I noticed that a very famous person who people call Renzo S/Soupgheist made a Swee T. too, so I'll have to try and change that. You guys might know him from Countdown to Chaos/The Rewind Chronicles.**

 **That's all I wanted to say. Stay creative guys!**


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